I'm A Knitter!

I never thought I'd say that I stayed up knitting till 2 AM. But that's just what I did last night. In fact, I fell asleep with my ball of yarn and my knitting needles snuggled up right next to me.

This knitting thing has been a long time coming. I've wanted to learn for ages and ages but just never got around to taking a class. Something else just seemed to always come up whenever it was time for my class and I never put my foot down and said "no" to whatever else it was that was about to preempt my knitting. I also observed that a couple of the closest knitting stores seemed a bit pricey and a waay too "scene-ish" for my taste. No mas to the hipster thing.

Anyway, I've been slowly working on my list of things I want. Since learning to knit is on that list, I figured it was time to cross it off for two reasons. One, a dear friend of mine is now pregnant and I want to make her a baby blanket and two, I'm going on vacation in a week and I need something to help me relax. I also like the idea of being able to produce something, to be able to say, "I made that!" It truly appeals to me.

To get away from my local hipster scene, I went to a lovely shop up in Eagle Rock called That Yarn Store. The website and the name of the place seemed so down to earth and straightforward and that impression definitely carried over to the store. The owner, David, was so nice and patient with me. I felt at times like I was the biggest, non-crafty imbecile to ever step over the threshold, but he was incredibly encouraging. He was also quite easy to talk to and before I knew it, two hours had flown by. I bought the green yarn you see above and came home to practice immediately because I didn't want to forget everything I'd learned.

Now I can cross "I want to learn how to knit," off my list and can instead add, "I want to be a better and faster knitter!" Better because any of you veteran knitters out there will be able to look at that picture and easily discern that there's some issues with my little green baby. Faster because producing said green baby took a good two hours. I'm slow but at least I made something!

I'm about to take my seven year-old to kung fu right now and I'm so excited to drag my yarn and knitting needles along with me. I don't know what the green baby is going to turn into. Probably nothing concrete because I'm just practicing. But I'll tell you, it feels really good to cross something off that "I want" list. Really, really good.

I Won a Depeche Mode Contest!

I'm still in shock because I never win anything but I found out yesterday afternoon that I won a Depeche Mode contest!!!

I won all ten US Remastered Vinyl Editions of the Depeche Mode remastered collection! That means my old-school record player having self is going to get a vinyl copy of each of ten Depeche Mode albums, from Speak and Spell to Exciter. This is beyond exciting. I'll take a crazy goat/sorceress dream any day if this is what happens to me!

Besides, this is doubly exciting because it breaks my streak of not winning contests. I think the last time I won a contest was back in the summer of 1993! I'd just bought some Depeche Mode cd singles at a Rose Records in Chicago and the guy behind the counter was seriously flirting with me. I remember he said corny things like, "Depeche Mode, huh? Aren't they kinda kinky? You into that kind of kinky stuff?"

Yeah, loser. Kinky. I still can't believe I spent five minutes trying to school him on the finer, deeper points of what Depeche Mode is about. I'll blame it on my being 20 years old and too nice for my own good. But, just when I decided to give up and leave, he said, "Hey, don't forget to enter the Q101 contest."

Q101 is the big alternative/rock station in Chicago and they were giving away a trip to Brazil. At the time I figured this guy only reminded me of it because he was going to try to jack my number off the entry form. But I made sure to fold it in half twice and then stuck it in the entry box myself.

Two months later I got a call saying I'd won a trip to Rio and Salvador Bahia. I thought it was just the pervy guy calling from the record store, but no, I was live on-air saying, "Look, I don't know who you think you are but I will get you fired!" It was such bad timing though. No one I knew would go with me AND the trip dates were right in the middle of final exams. Just when I'd decided to go to Brazil alone (I know, dumb, right?) one evil professor would not let me take the final early or late. So, I gave the trip to somebody I knew and they went and had a great time on my behalf.

I've been convinced ever since then that I've been contest jinxed. But now, the jinx is over! The "curse" is lifted and I promise I'm not as superstitious as I sound. Now all I have to do is get my records and then decide which one to listen to first. I think I may go for Music for the Masses. Actually, watching this video for the song "Strangelove" off of that album, I can sort of understand the record shop guy's question. Given what's on MTV now, it's hard to believe this 1987 video for Strangelove got rejected as too racy and had to be re-edited:



Gosh, they are so cute at the end when they're laughing at each other. It's a good reminder that we should never take ourselves quite so seriously. Anyway, happy Friday to you! Hope some good luck comes your way as well!

Happy Birthday Dave Gahan!

It's way after midnight in LA and I just looked at the date, May 9th.

May 9th? Oh my goodness, that means it's Dave Gahan's birthday! WHOO HOO! Another excuse to go Depeche Mode crazy on a Friday!!! Love it!

If you've never been here before, let me bring you up to speed:

1) I'm a huge Depeche Mode fan. How huge? Well... I have a Depeche Mode poster on the inside of my front door. How's that?

2) Dave Gahan is the lead singer of Depeche Mode and today's his birthday! He's 46! Happy Birthday, Dave! (like he's reading this blog, right?)

3) If you don't know who Depeche Mode is, I feel bad for you. Really, really bad.

In honor of one of the best front men in rock, let's take a fun little trip down memory lane. How about a little listen to "Photographic" from their very first album, "Speak and Spell"? It's not their first single but it's the first song DM ever recorded together.

This particular performance of "Photographic" is from when Dave was just 18 years old and Depeche Mode was just starting out on their journey to being the Best. Band. Ever. And in case you're confused, Dave's the very innocent and shy-looking young man with brown hair:



It's sooo cute, it makes my heart melt!

Fast forward 25 years to April 30, 2006. I got to hear them perform "Photographic" at their show in Vegas!!! You can read all about that adventure right here if you want! I was like three rows from the stage going NUTS when they played it and it was a total surprise to hear it because it's not a song that gets played a whole lot. It was cute to see them go back to their pure synthesizer roots.

There is some Vegas footage on YouTube but it's not that great, so instead, here's footage from a show in Berlin. I really like this footage because you can see how much fun Dave is having performing, especially between the 1:16 and 2:29 marks:



Yeah, rock it out, birthday boy! Bright lights! Dark room! Love it!

So in honor of Dave's birthday, I hope you go and do something to celebrate it being such a beautiful day today. You're alive and you've been blessed with another day! Use it wisely!

Los Angelista's A to Z

This morning while I was over at the fabulous 1969's blog, I saw she'd made a list of herself from A-Z. She got the idea from an interview with Halle Berry in InStyle magazine. I told her I was going to steal it because it just looked like a LOT of fun. Plus it's sunny and 80 degrees here in LA and I can't concentrate on much else! I have all my windows open and there are two hummingbirds singing away. Gosh, I love Los Angeles. So here's me from A to Z. At least, for today it is!

A-Adam-12: Adam 12 is my teddy bear that I've had forever. I don't know how long I've had him but it must've been since I was a baby. My children are a bit afraid of him because he has no mouth and a bad leg. But he's a secret agent and he's been on a lot of spy missions over the years so he has the right to look a little jacked up. Plus he has no mouth because he's gotten a lot of kisses from me. Not that kissing me means you necessarily end up, with, er, no mouth...

B-Ballet: I studied ballet until I was 16. I loved dancing in my pointe shoes. I wish I'd never quit. I regret that.

C-Chai: I looove chai! Some people say, "I need a drink," when they feel stressed. I don't. I say, "I need a chai." I don't mind drinking it when I'm not stressed either. But since it doesn't come cheap from Coffee Bean or Starbucks, I'm trying to perfect my at-home chai brewing recipe.

D-Depeche Mode: My favorite band in the whole world since I was a young lass that tied boys to trees and beat them with sticks. I probably sang "Just Can't Get Enough" to my victim as I whacked him. Hmm. That makes it sound like "D" should stand for "Dominatrix", doesn't it?

E-Ears: I didn't get my ears pierced till I was 18. I have a very low tolerance for pain so after getting the left ear pierced, I almost didn't want to get the right ear done. But I figured that would look a little odd so I sucked it up.

F-Facebook: I was so resistant to Facebook but I've gotten to reconnect with so many people I'd fallen out of touch with. It is sort of awkward though when folks I don't really know request to be my friend. And just because we chatted once three years ago, that doesn't mean you know me. I just ignore these requests and I feel guilty about that. Maybe I should just send the person a message and tell them, "Hey, I don't think we can be Facebook friends because if my car broke down on the side of the road, I couldn't call you!" But I'm too chicken to do that.

G-Gentleman: The older I get, the more I see the value of a man knowing how to be a gentleman. And I see the value of mothers and fathers training their sons to become gentlemen.

H-Hair: I haven't straightened my hair since July of '07. I'm going to cut the straight parts off when my sister comes out to visit me in April. It'll be the first time in my entire life that I'll have short hair but I'm looking forward to not having two textures on my head.

I-I Love You, Mommy: Every time I hear my sons say this to me, completely unpromted, my heart just melts. If those are the last words I hear, I'll die happy.

J-Justice League: I didn't even know what the Justice League was before I married my comic book addict husband. Sure I knew about Batman, Super Man and Wonderwoman, but Green Lantern? Hawkgirl? I had no clue. But now, I am a total Justice League convert. I might even be Hawkgirl for Halloween this year.

K-Kick Butt Cardio: Violet Zaki's "Kickbutt Cardio" DVD has really been kicking my, um, butt. I don't feel bad having a hard time getting through the workout because it's fun and besides, SHE has a hard time doing it. Every time Violet says she's about to keel over and die, for some reason, I feel better. I wish I could hire her as my personal trainer.

L- Leela Thai: Leela Thai's my favorite Thai restaurant in all of LA. They have the best red curry with tofu there. I used to order from them every Friday night but now I'm down to twice a month.

M-Memory: I have a terrible memory. The upside of this is that I've developed the habit of telling the truth because I can't remember what's true half the time, let alone any lies.

N-Narcissism: The reason why I'm doing this A-Z list. But don't worry, I won't fall in love my reflection in a pool of water.

O-Orlando Bloom. He's not the best actor on the planet but I don't really care about the acting. His name should be in the dictionary next to "Smokin' Hot Eye Candy". He's sooo hot, I even have a Legolas doll. Sometimes I take it down from it's place of honor on the shelf and... okay, I'll just stop that thought right there.

P-Pacifica's Spanish Amber. I've been wearing this scent for the past couple of weeks and gosh, it smells so good. I smell my clothes when I take them off because I like it so much. I want to get the candles too but it might be too heavy of a scent for summertime. We'll see.

Q-Queasy: I get queasy really easily. That Alice in Wonderland teacup ride at Disneyland is a nightmare for me. Riding in the passenger seat in a car is sometimes tough for me too.

R-Ranunculus: They're my favorite flower. I try to get them for myself at least once or twice a month and I once got them for free from a stranger at at the Trader Joe's on 3rd and Fairfax.

S-Santa Barbara: Will someone please just buy me a house up there? It's such a beautiful area. Okay, you can't afford a house? A small condo will do just fine. Email me and I'll send you my address so you can send me the key to my new digs.

T-Treasure Hunting. I used to read books about treasures found in lost cities and from shipwrecks. I wanted to be a treasure hunter for a while there. Now I just settle for watching movies like "National Treasure" and "The Goonies".

U-Underwears. My four year old likes to strip his off and run around the house yelling, "Mommy, I don't have on any underwears!" One of these days he'll stop saying "underwears" and instead it'll just be "underwear". And I'll feel sad because I'll know my little wild boy is growing up.

V-Virtus Sola Nobilitas: Also known as "Virtue is the only nobility". It's my family motto. Love it. I even have a key chain with the motto on it.

W-Winter: Did I mention that it's 80 degrees here? Yeah, I love winter in Los Angeles. And now I'm going to listen to "Love Like Winter".

X-Xavier Gold: One of my favorite old-school house tracks is "You Used to Hold Me" by Ralphi Rosario and Xavier Gold. Xavier Gold is the singer and wow, she can SANG!

Y- Youth: I've always liked the Sophia Loren quote about the fountain of youth:

"There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age."

Z-Zebra: I used to get called "zebra" all the time by mean children who teased me for being half white and half black. I'll never forget how mean those kids were. I know many of you got called names for a wide variety of reasons. Hopefully we each know better than to call other people names because we know how awful it feels.


A-Z, that's me as of today, the 27th day of February! I encourage you to try making this list because it was really fun. I would tag some of you and turn it into a meme, but I'll let you tag yourself. If you decide to do this, let me know.

Grateful to Have So Many Candles

Whew, I will definitely be up in the gym tomorrow working off the huge slice of carrot cake I just ate. It was SO good though.

And I'll tell you about my fun afternoon tomorrow as well because guess what? Madame Insomniac is going to bed!