5 Super Sense!

Yes, that's right my lovelies, this blog fest is all about the senses!! For todays list, we want how you satisfy each of your different senses during the holiday season. Interestly obsure, fascinatingly useless...I can't wait to read what you write.

*1...TASTE - Christmas dinner is the tastiest thing ever. Gravy makes my world turn round, and leftovers make it the meal that just keeps giving.

*2...SMELL - Open fires! so cosy and lovely. Here's DBs family cat, Miskina, snoozing by their fireplace.

*3...HEARING - Christmas carols. I am a sucker for a good, old-fashioned hymn and I'm not even Christian.

*4...SIGHT - Fairy lights make me so happy, and they're cheap. I am also very partial to some people watching from the Starbucks window outside college, mulling over a nice gingerbread latte!

*5...TOUCH - Well, this ones easy. My DBs arms! I'll be there super soon...and some nice, new yarn. Can't beat some lovely, soft yarn.

Well, there it is friends. I am off to pack, make merry with my friends and finish a few outstanding things for school (will it ever end??). Can't wait to read what you guys write. Have fun!

Freak Out!

I'm in work and am dossing instead of doing my filing (yucky!). I am in such a bad mood. Things are not going to plan with the whole 'passing finals' idea. I am really worried that I am doing badly and I hate this feeling in the pit of my stomach. This guilty, judgemental, 'you should be doing better, so why aren't you' feeling. I am worried. I want to not care but accept what I get with grace and feel like that is what I deserved. Maybe this is what I deserve but I don't want to admit that. I would hope that I was a little smart than a C average or worse. Fact of the matter might be that I am not. I am down. I am wallowing in a vat of self-pity when I am the only one who can change my situation and I am in complete control of what grades I get. It is all such a struggle though. I don't want to struggle all my life. Anyway, I should go. Might delete this blog when I read it back in awhile. I am so sorry to my poor readers who much endure my pitiful moanngs. I swear to God, I am usually such an upbeat, glass-half-full, stand-still-and-smell-the-roses person. Berklee is a bad influence, I know that much!

8 Patterns and Photos Ph-inally!

Hello, hello. How are we all this evening? Today has been spent, no joke, in a coffee shop with 6 other friends doing nothing but studying and finals projects. My brain is starting to cramp up and I've hardly made a dent in the work load, but now seemed as good a time as any to blog. AAAnnnd if you look down at the bottom you will see my pics from 2 blogs ago that refused to upload. Oh man todays blog is challenging. One, I dont yet know who to make links (though I have made some very nice lists on my border, have you noticed?) and two, there is a slew of things I would love to make from Knitty and only 7 that can be posted. Well without further ado, let the selecting begin...

*8...Calorimetry. For all my big, curly hair!

*7...Cathode. I have made this, I even adjusted the pattern for a different gauge yarn and my own uniquely shaped (aka crazy-shaped) body and THEN felted it by accident when washing it and have never got round to knitting it again. I freakin loved that jumper...I'm an eejit!

*6...Pomotomus. Yeah, so I am knitting this but have stalled hardcore just near the toe of the first sock. But I shall succeed. I still think there is an error in the pattern though, or else I can't count properly. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

*5...Hedera. Beautiful, would look gorgeous in these strappy heels I have.

*4...Red Herring. Classic herring pattern and modelled as a piece of sushi. Rules.

*3...Arisaiq. I love tops that wrap round (flaunt a little cleavage without making my Da squirm) and the pattern for htis one is so delicate looking and hippy. Lovely.

*2...Surf and Turf. A knitted skirt that looks like grass and is surf-tastic?! I am there!

*1...Belle Epoque. Beautiful, feminine, flattering and made specifically to drink tea in. OK, I'm not a huge girly-girl but I could definitely make an exception for this.

Well back to the books. Thank you all for your kind words of support. It will all be over soon and then off home I go. Actually I was wondering if anyone would want to do 'the ultimate travelling during the holidays' blog list...stories, top tips, etc?? Sound any good, oh Mighty Blog Master?

FOB 11, 10 AND 9...the ultimate catch-up!

YEAYYYYYYYYY!! It's Saturday and I.AM.SO.TIRED!! But feeling good and glad to be chipping away at the work load. Most of all I am so glad to have half an hour free to blog and catch up with ll these phenomenal lists. I have been having so much fun checking everyones, it has been keeping me sane during the studying. So let's go...

11 Ultimate Christmassy/WIntery/Get me in the mood Films

*11...WIlly Wonka and the Chocolate Factory...the original one. I love Johnny but this one will always rule. I watch it every Christmas without fail!

*10...Mary Poppins. AN interesting choice as it has no connection to the time of year, but again I watch it every Christmas and LOVE IT! Singing a long is the best.

*9...Sleeping Hollow. Tim Burton, Johnny and dark, spookyness. Wintery goodness.

*8...Bridget Jones' Diary. Embarrassed to admit it but I have so much fun watching it and wish that after running after my DB in nothing but my underwear while it's snowing, he would wrap me in his coat and kiss me.

*7...The Nightmare Before Christmas. Priceless.

*6...Die Hard. Just saw it for the first time, DB said it was a sin I hadn't and that it was v. seasonal. Suuuuuuure! Alan Rickman rocks as a baddie!

*5...Grrr, I cant remember the name of it and I have never seen it but I will this holiday. It has Judy Garland in it and she sings 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' which is my FAVOURITE Christmas song, so this one nearly counts.

*4...Edward Scissorhands. Awww the snow angel.

*3...Little Women. THe book even more than the film, 'cause Winona kinda annoys me, but either is good this time of year, with Laurie and the girls bashing about. Too heartwarming.

*2...Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I got given it when DB was over and I just love the wintery scenes so much, I've watched it so many times...and the Yule Ball...well it has got me in the mood this year for sure. Damn Boston and its unseasonally warm and unsnowy weather!

*1...Love, Actually! I don't really know why I love this film so much but it makes me glow from the inside out. First time I saw it I thought it was very sentimental but I love it so much and own it! DB says he doenst watch the film, he likes to watch me watch it 'cause er, I get very animated :)

10 Rules for Happy Living...

*10...The only thing worth fearing in the world is fear itself, because it is truly the only thing that ever holds you back from doing what you want to.

*9...You should do something outside of your comfort zone everyday. Talk to a stranger, walk down a different street, a little change is good for the soul...

*8...Know who your cheerleaders are and check in with them often! Everyone deserves a highkick when they do something great!

*7...Create everyday, it helps you connect to your true self.

*6...Everything in moderation.

*5...I have a 'Happy Box' filled with things that makes me laugh, films that lift me up, memories that warm my heart and an emergency chocolate bar and ball of yarn.

*4...When things are bad, remember 'Even this too shall pass'.

*3...Smiling is the best form of exercise ever.

*2...A hug everyday makes everything a little better.

*1...Remember this life is merely a shell of what true existence is. Enjoy it, appreciate it, but don't worry too much. So long as your heart is in the right place, so is everything else, and the really big adventure comes after!!

This blog is sponsered by the number NINE...

*9...Nine, as the highest single-digit number (in base ten), symbolizes completeness in the Bahá'í Faith. In addition, the word Bahá' in the Abjad notation has a value of 9, and a 9-pointed star is used to symbolize the religion.

*8...In classical music the curse of the ninth refers to the superstition that a composer who writes a ninth symphony will die soon. Beethoven, who left his Tenth Symphony unfinished, is regarded by the superstition as the first victim of the curse.

*7...Nine is the number of Valkyries in Richard Wagner's Die Walküre.

*6...In association football a forward/striker commonly wears the number 9 shirt. For example, Alan Shearer is a famous English footballer who is known as a number 9. Another famous number 9 is Mia Hamm, who has scored more international goals than any other player of either sex.

*5...Someone dressed "to the nines" is dressed up as much as they can be.

*4...In Greek mythology, nine goddesses called the Muses were responsible for inspiring the art of musicians, artists, and writers.

*3...According to Dante's The Divine Comedy, there are nine circles of hell and nine spheres of heaven.

*2... Nine is the atomic number of fluorine.

*1...Six recurring nines appear in the decimal places 762 through 767 of pi. This is known as the Feynman point.

Nine is my favourite number, that was so much fun...and I am a nig nerd and LOVE maths!! Yeay!! All caught up for today. Til tomorrow...

Help! Help! The music's taking over...

This will only be a quick note, as I am so tired. Finals week is looming and things are getting a little nutty here in 'crazy-musicians' land. And yet, it is so hard to concentrate as home is also so close. Sometimes I feel like I am already there in my head and I've left school far behind. I get to go home next Thursday and I CANT WAIT. Even the thought of the 5 hour layover in Frankfurt doesn't put me off. I know, weirdest route ever but it was cheapest...8 hrs Boston to Frankfurt, 5 hours in Frankfurt, then 4 hrs Frankfurt to Dublin, then 2 hr drive home...leave at 3 p.m. (EST) on Thursday and arrive home at about 3 p.m. (GMT) on Friday, missing a whole nights sleep...phew!I thankfully am not completely swamped with work and definitely feel like I can get it all done in the time left, unlike other semesters where it felt like the sky was caving in on me. Maybe I am just dealing better, though my classes have been good this time round.

Little disheartening today when I got 55/100 in a proficiency on one of the digital recording boards (the big things with all the faders and knobs in studios...not as scary as you might think) but it was only worth 10% overall, so it's not the end of the world and no one else did much better (our teacher is a lovely man with nearly too much knowledge and no idea of how to impart it!). I think getting Bs and Cs and middle of the road grades is so disheartening for me because I was so used to acing everything. I was a straight A student at home and I loved my studies, though hated school. I was the weird kids, therefore no friends. But I find it so hard to get out of the mindset that I should be getting impeccable marks and trying to pass with honours, when in reality I am entering one of the few industries in the world where no one cares what your grades are. In fact many educated musicians in the contemporary industry deliberately keep it a secret, as people often see you in a different light when they find out your one of those 'book-learnin' musicians. I do want to do well, I love what I do but truthfully there is no time in college to really absorb what you are learning. You get a huge overdose of what you want to do and then have the rest of your life to sort through it and apply it and really understand it. It is just frustrating, I am one of those students who needs time away from the subject to really get it. Truthfully if I sleep on something I understand it so much better the next day when I look at it. But there is no time for that here. So I battle on and write annoying blogs that moan about my GREAT situation. My apologies, how unseasonable of me :)

On the BAL 'Festival of Blogs', I am crapping out big stylie! I want to and have been reading avidly but even the thought over writing out my favorite memories/moments makes my brain crap up and forget everything I have ever experienced. The knitting/craft one I still what to do and will tomorrow hopefully. But fear not, I am still as part of it and have a feeling that I will be very reliable from like BAL 10 all the way down to 1, so just bear with me during this next week or 2 of madness.

Finally decorated the house this weekend, so I am feeling all festive and thought I'd share a few photos of the festivities (please watch out for guest appearances by Honey and my teacosy from home...can't make a decent cup of tea without a teapot and no self respecting teapot could be without a teacosy!). I'm off now with my mug of tea and some Christmas knitting that needs doing and watching a little Sex and the City before bedtime. Night, night!!

OK. blogger won't load my pis so I'll have to do it another time. I'm sorry. Has anyone else been having trouble with blogger recently? It's been awful moody with me. OK, sorry. Next time I'll get some photos up :)

16 names and the weight behind them

I think the most important part of a name is its meaning. My paternal grandfather, when he heard the name of a new child, would ask what it meant before saying if he like it or not. I believe that the meaning of a name has a lot of effect on the person it is. Well you do have to hear it all the time and would want it to have positive associations. My name Parisa (Pa-ree-sauh...Pari = fairy in Persian/Farsi), means an angel or fairy that attracts bad chi/energy and then changes it into good. My middle name, Eithne (eh-th-na), is an ancient Celtic name meaning little fire, which I have been told is quite appropriate ;) I like names with meanings, so for todays list I give you '16 names and their meanings', especially for you Mammy Yoda!

Girls names

*16...Layla (Arabic) Night
*15...Shirin (Persian) Sweet. Name of character in Persian and Turkish legend.
*14...Maryam (Persian) a Flower (Arabic) Variant of 'Mary' which means beloved. (my sister's name)
*13...Soheila (Arabic) (pronounced So-hay-lah) A variant on 'Soheil' (masculine) which is the Arabic name of the second brightest star in the sky, known in the western world as Canopus. (my other sister's name, named after my Da!)
*12...Nadia (Arabic) Tender, Delicate
*11...Aiobhe (Irish) (pronounced Ee-fa...'bh' in Irish makes 'f' sound) derived from Gaelic aoibh "beauty". It is also used as an Irish form of Eve.
*10...Niamh (Irish) (pronounced Nee-av...'mh' in Irish makes 'v' sound) Means "bright" in Irish. She was the daughter of the sea god in Irish legends. She fell in love with the poet Oisin, son of Fionn.
*9...Moya (Irish) Great

Boys Names

*8...Karim (Arabic) Noble, Generous
*7...Dara (Persian) Wealthy
*6...Jamin (Biblical) Means "right hand" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a son of Simeon.
*5...Kolya (Russian) Short for Nicholas/Nicholai (Little Nicholas) meaning victory. (DB's name!)
*4...Julian (English/Polish/German) Thought to come from the Greek, Julias, which was related to the Greeks name for the god, Jupiter. (DB's middle name)
*3...Conor (Irish) From the Gaelic name Conchobhar which means "dog lover" or "wolf lover". This was the name of an early king of Ulster. Irish legends tell of his tragic desire for Deirdre.
*2...Cian (Irish) Means "ancient" in Gaelic. This was the name of the mythical ancestor of the Cianachta in Irish legend. Cian was also the name of a son-in-law of Brian Boru. (My brother is called Keian (Key-on) which is the name of a Persian king and close enough to Cian for the Irish side of the family :)
*1...Fionn (Irish) Means "fair" or "white" in Gaelic. Fionn mac Cumhail was a legendary Irish hero who became all-wise by eating an enchanted salmon. He fought against the giant Fomors with his son Oisin ('Uh-sheen'...another beautiful name!) and grandson Oscar.

17 things and What I remembered

Hello, hello on this fine Friday evening. The work week is over and I am in fine form. I'm writing this blog while sitting in on a friends band rehearsal for a gig he has tomorrow night and it just sounds fabulous. And for some reason has completely moved me to writing.

Lots of nice things happened today. Go to go on a field trip to a really cool studio during my Audio Mix class today and see all their gear. It also snowed today, didn't settle but was still lovely and SO freakin' cold. My ears thought they were going to fall off with the cold. I was also really excited to find the new issue on Knitty on the stands, hot off the press and some fab patterns in it that I can't wait to get my needles into. I have to include a picture of my latest FO, my first ever dishcloth/facecloth from my mystery dishcloth KAL. Can you see what it is??
It's a rocking horse, how sweet is that. Plan to make a lot more of them as gifts for people. And last but not least, I promised I'd put up a gauge of the yule yarn I got from Brooke's etsy shop, White Willow Market. Isn't it gorgeous the way the colours come out, I was so impressed as I was knitting it up. Great stuff, Brooke!


I must beg forgiveness to the Benevolent Leader of the FOB. I know I didn't blog yesterday , but I was kind of busy and to be honest I don't think I really could have made a list for that particular subject. My kitchen right now is actually, no lie, the size of a cupboard. There is no room for anything other than kitcheny things and even then some of that migrates to bedrooms more often than not. Mugs for instance have no staying power in the kitchen. I suppose I could have done a blog about the other crazy things we have in our shoebox of a flat (such as an orchestra full of instruments and a yellow exercise ball, left here by the last residents, that is used for sitting and bouncing - never exercise, 'cause that would be silly!). I feel able to tackle this next one however, though I feel a bit bad being so materialistic at this time of year, but no point lying to oneself. Hi, my name's Parisa, I have stuff and I like it! And so here is: 17 things I couldn't live without (unless I HAD to)...

*17...My flute. My beautiful, beautiful, silver flute bought for me by my Mother for my 18th birthday. I waited a long time for a flute of my very own, considering I'd been playing since I was 6 and I love it very much. I was separated from it for a whole 6 months when I went to India and I'm still recovering!!

*16...My copy of Joni Mitchell's album 'Blue'. Again a gift from my Mother, and truthfully a landmark album in my music career. It made me want to write and sing, so badly.

*15...Carole King's 'Tapestry'. Same as above. (I have been told that I sound like Carole King and a young Joni Mitchell at times *SMILE*)

*14...My teddy bear, 'Honey'. He was given to me when I was 3 by the gardener at the block of flats we lived in Belfast. He was such a sweet man and lived with his brother, next door to us...or so I thought. I recently found out the guy he lived with was actually his life partner. Two elderly gay gentlemen living together in Belfast in the mid-eighties...how cool is that! And 'Honey' is super cool too and makes DB very jealous by always getting to sleep beside me. He's good about sharing me though, when DB comes to visit ;)

*13...My knitted blanket that I bought at Glastonbury music festival to keep poor DB and I warm in our little tent. Best music festival EVER, saw REM, Radiohead, Moby, David Grey, Nitin Sawhney and a plethora of other incredible music acts. I was 17 and it was my first festival. Had wanted to go FOREVER and DB got us tickets as my birthday present. I did my last ever exam in school, walking out, jumped in Kol's car and sped off to the airport. Best memory!

(Honey, with knitted blanket in the background)

*12...Cheese! I love cheese! Not american cheese (sorry!) or pre-sliced rubbish that tastes like plastic but real cheese. Love a bit of cheddar. Wendsleydale with cranberries. Brie. Anything. I know it's not a thing but, yeah, I love it!

*11...My Aladdin shoes. They're bright red, leather shoes with lace up front and curly toes a la Aladdin or Ali Baba. A gift from DB our first Christmas together. Such an incredibly thoughtful gift, that are so 'me' and such an unusual item for a guy to think to buy as a gift.


*10...My voice. I'm not quite sure what I'd do if I ever lost my voice completely. Probably go quietly mad...and play a lot more flute, unless...

*9...I lost my fingers! When I'm really stressed I sometimes dream of my fingers getting trapped in things or getting cut off. Scary! And it would mean I could never knit again...double ECK!

*8...My Knatty hat. The newsboy cap from 'Stitch n Bitch Nation', which I adjusted to fit all my hair into. I look like a have a head of dreads when I wear it, true Reggae man! You can see me modeling it on my myspace page.

*7...My tinwhistle :) Great for a little impromptu session or busking and v. portable.

*6...My laptop. Is that sad? I've only owned it for 2 and a half years and I got given it at college, so it is technically for school work but I really love it now. Oh Lappy, my dear!

*5...My knitting stuff. I know I don't always have it with me, and most of it is back in Ireland right now, but just a set of needles and some yarn and I'm happy :)

*4...My BED!!! Best bed ever and I really don't spend enough time bonding with it. It is the only thing in my apartment, bar my instruments, that is worth any money but I really thought of it as an investment as I only get to have so much sleep anyway, with recording sessions, so I want to get quality sleep when I do get to sleep.

*3...Newest addition to my traveling menagerie of instruments is the left-handed guitar I got for my 21st birthday in June. Thank you DB and Mother again. Such supportive people (I know that from my last list I said my Ma laughed at me when I said I wanted to be a singer, but she is so supportive and always had been, I think she was just shocked and didn't know what to say that first time)

*2...My family and my friends, who are my family, not by blood but 'cause we are kindred spirits...

*1...and my DB!!

I know I cheated a little with those last 2, but the more I think about it the more I know in my heart of hearts I could survive fine with nothing more than those last 2 'items' and maybe my flute if I could have one possession. I think that is what I learned when I was in India. I brought so much crap with me that I then discarded or gave away and I was none the worse off for not having it. Not that I was a crazy materialistic person before I went to India, not that any of us are, but I think it's our society constantly telling us that this 'thing' will makes us happier/prettier/more fulfilled/better. It is such a crock! I find myself slipping back into my old ways often but I am so glad that I have the other perspective to fall back on and shake myself out of my commercial stupor. This was a hard list for me to write, even as I look round my room at all my lovely stuff and am glad I get to enjoy them all, but I'm also glad I could do without them too. And I've also noticed many things on my list were gifts or have memories attached and it's the memory I cherish more than anything! Thank you for such a great topic Em, I really needed a good life stock take...it has been awhile.

19 Favourite Fictional Characters

*19...Matilda from Roald Dahl's book of the same name. I read to escape to other more interesting places, as she did, but always wished I could have had the magical powers too. And the understanding school teacher.

*18...She-Ra!! Because girls rock!

*17...Willy Wonka. As far as I am concerned, there is a chocolate river somewhere in the world, someone just isn't telling us about it!

*16...Lisa Simpson. For all the misunderstood nerds out there.

*15...Hermione from Harry Potter, for the same reason as above and because all my friends are pretty much boys too.

*14...Father Jack, from the comedy 'Father Ted'. "Feck, Arse, Girls, Drink!" (An amazing Irish comedy about 3 priests in a parochial house off the west coast of Ireland. Don't watch it if you don't like making fun of the church. Do watch if you want a dose of Irish humour at its best!)

*13...Mrs Doyle, from 'Father Ted' (she's the priest's housekeeper). "Another cup of tea, Father? Ah, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on..."

*12...The 'Sex and The City' girls.

*11...Balou, from 'The Jungle Book'. First film I ever saw in the cinema, aged 3/4. Halfway through I ran to the front of the auditorium and started blowing kisses and trying to hug Balou.

*10...Mary Poppins. Book, film, whichever...Phenomenal!

*9...Kevin, from 'The Wonder Years'. Winnie was never good enough for him, but I would have treated him right...

*8...Any character Johnny Depp has ever played, particularly the gypsie in 'Chocolat' (I forgive him for the bad Irish accent 'cuz he's just so darn HOT), and Benny in 'Benny and Joon'. Oh and Edward Scissorhands!

*7...Mrs McCool. In Irish legend, there lived a giant called Finn McCool. The story goes that the Scottish giant (who was bigger than him) came over to fight him and it was Finn McCool's wife who saves him, by hiding him in the babies crib. When the Scottish giant came to the door and saw the size of the baby, he figured the babies Da must be massive and ran home. Behind every Irish *ANYTHING*, is an Irish woman!!

*6...Alan Rickman as Col. Christopher Brandon in 'Sense and Sensibility'. Oh be still my beating heart!

*5...Lady MacBeth. Yeah, she was crazy, but, boy, did she have drive!

*4...The Genie from 'Aladdin'

*3...Bender, from 'Futurama'. I identify with the sarcasm.

*2...Heathcliff and Cathy from 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte. For dysfunctional relationships everywhere.

*1...Scarlet O'Hara, in 'Gone with the Wind'. Us Celtic women might be nuts but you always know when it's time to head home :) (last line of the film) Scarlett: Tara! Home. I'll go home. And I'll think of some way to get him back. After all... tomorrow is another day.

20 days 'til Crimbo

So I am going to give this 'blog a day til Christmas' a try. Thanks for the idea Em, so much fun! 20 days of blogging and each blog must pertain to the number of days left. I can do that...hopefully :) I'm not a Christian and don't really celebrate Christmas, well I do but it's not strictly my holiday (does that make sense?). I'm a Baha'i and our Christmas-type holiday is in November and our New Year in March (Spring Equinox...oh yeah!) But my Ma's family are all Catholic and I used to spend every Christmas with them, going to Midnight Mass and putting up the tree, so it's part of my year and Christmas in Ireland is beautiful. It is truly a family time of year and DB celebrates it and I'm a big kid so I love the season and this festival of lights in the dark of winter. Makes me very happy and cosy feeling,

But enough of my ramblings...Today's task is (drumroll, please) 'The Secrets Unveiled - 20 Unknown Facts about Knatty Knitter'

*20...I love the taste of the glue on envelope flaps that you have to lick to stick.

*19...I have a thing for nice, crisp fabrics, like duvet covers or shirts, pulling them tight so they make little pull bumps/ridges and then pushing them down. Makes the most satisfying clicking sound ever. Have done this since I was a kid. It is something about flattening the material out...feel like I'm organising chaos or straightening stuff out.

*18...When I was born the nurses thought I was all lovely and dark like my Dad, until one of them had the brainwave to put me under a light and realised that I was highly jauniced. I had a blood transfusion at 2 days old.

*17...Not 'til I was 8 years old did doctors realise (even though my Da told them EVERY TIME we went to see them) that I had the same genetic blood deficiency as my father and that was way I was jaundiced as a baby and my liver kept packing in when I ate certain things. Technically, however, because my father is a carrier of the gene but my mother isn't, his daughters should merely be carriers and not show any symptoms. I single-handedly ruined ALL their reasearch into this particular genetic
illness :)

*16...The first time I told my Ma that I wanted to be a singer, she laughed at me.

*15...I LOVE earrings...the bigger and more unusual, the better. Inherited that particular weakness straight off my mother, no doctors needed!! We are both huge jewellery fiends and love making our own.

*14...I eat Frosted Mini Wheats out of the box, with a glass of milk, for dippin'! (They soak up too much milk if you have them in a bowl!)

*13...Sometimes whan I am walking down the street, listening to my ipod, I like to pretend I am the singer in a music video for that particular song. I also sing in front of the mirror.

*12...My laptop (Mac Powerbook...my baby) is called Lappy. Lappy has a 'blanky' that he lives in. My ipod is called Paddy the Pod, or Poddy for short.

*11...I am a closet 'Clueless' addict. I love that film and can quote entire scenes from it. It just doesn't get old.

*10...I have stretch marks on my knees.

*9...I share my birthday (9th June) with Johnny Depp...*drool*

*8...I love the smell of the sea, freshly cut grass, clean laundry (LOVE folding laundry, so satisfying!) and fires (bonfires, campfires, at home in the fireplace...). New car smell and car fumes make me feel sick.

*7...I find algebra soothing and satisfying. Nothing better than working out what 'x' is.

*6...I want to write a novel really badly and have often felt like I have one to write but have no idea where to start.

*5...I can wiggle my nose like Samantha from 'Bewitched'.

*4...I know the lyrics and melody to a song after the first listen usually. Which explains the number of hidious pop songs I still remember lyrics to.

*3...I took a gap year between finishing high school and going to university, and did voluntry work in India with rural and tribal young women. I have never met happier people in all my life and feel that it is my duty as a woman to do the best I possibly can with the opportunities presented to me, because I know that if those girls where given even a tenth of the chances I am as a 'western' women, they would grasp it with both hands and never let go!

*2...I am petrified of ever ending up in an 9-5 office job or having to give up my dreams when I have kids.

*1...I write a blog (yup, you are looking at it) that is my very own secret. The only person who knows me personally and knows of its existence is the DB. I find it very freeing to write whatever I want and to make new friends who have no prejudgement as to who I am because of how I look or sound, etc. I like that I can be myself here no matter what :)

**First Snow**

YEAYYYYYYYY...first snow of the winter here in Boston! It was only a little one this morning and it didn't lie for long but it was lovely to watch as I ate my breakfast. Too absent minded to pull out the aul camera to get a snap of it but next time...I have a feeling it will be the start of many :) I love it when it finally gets cold and wintery. The Christmassy feeling just can't get flowing properly 'til it happens.

Well I'm off for another cup of tea and get cracking on some homework. Can I just say how much I love tea, all teas but black tea most of all (thank you to whoever-it-is-upstairs for Barry's Gold Blend) and as an Irish women pledge my eternal allegiance to tea...coffee's ok when you just can't get a decent cup of tea but nothing shall ever beat tea :) from a teapot, with a teacosy on it...I cant wait to go home for a decent cup!!

Happy Wintery Day everyone!

Monkey News

What a week...this is the 3rd time I have tried to blog this weekend and if it doesn't work this time I might go freakin' barmey!!! My interent is acting up and losing connection just as I am about to save what I've written! Crazy-making!

Have had such a busy week. My DB left on Wednesday after the best 10 days with him, it was so good. He took me to see the Nutcracker ballet at the Boston Opera House and he bought me a little overpriced nutcracker decoration to put on my tree after the performance...such a sweetie! He had known I'd never been to the ballet before and wanted to go and suprised me with the tickets. We went ice skating with our mates at the Frog Pond in Boston Common. Again it was my first time ice skating and I was so scared. Fell 3 times, once because some little brat on the ice pushed me over when I asked him how he was doing! I was just trying to be nice and say hi...grrr! I don't think I'll be going to the winter olympics anytime soon either way so...

Missing DB lots and lots but am conforted by the fact that I'll be home in less than 3 weeks. Boy how the time flies. This semester has felt so so fast, and I still have so much to. Did so many recording sessions this week, I am wrecked, 2 of which happened from 2am-6am on consecutive days. Only just back to a normal sleeping routine now. But even in the midst of all this work I still find ways to waste loads of time, including joining a mystery dishcloth KAL that Em had recommended to me (thanks Em!!). But I have justified it by telling myself I can give them away as Crimbo (British Isles slang for Christmas) gifts.

As well as the dishcloth knitting, made possible by Brooke and her kind gift of cotton, I finished the toe-up knit socks I was working on and love them. Perfect for keeping my feet warm and cosy on the flight home.


Most exciting this week though was receiving my parcel from Brooke's etsy store, White Willow, and it was amazing. She is so sweet and amazing and an absolute genius when it comes to creating colourways. Are these not gorgeous colourways??

One is a lushious berry yarn, with purples, pinks and corals, and the other is a yule yarn which made me feel festive just looking at it. I was so excited that I had to knit alittle gauge of the yule yarn and felt so Christmassy doing it. They are so nice I'm nearly afraid to start knitting with them. I don't know what to make. And the stitchmarkers are the prettiest needle jewellery I have ever seen. Might be hard to see in the photo but they have little gold butterflies on them and swarovski crystals...beautiful! She also included a little bag of lavender to scent the yarn and a lovely card. Thank you Brooke, you are the fab-est!