Random things about places I have lived

I know if you have lived in these places you already know about these things, but since I have a national and international following I thought I would share. This might be a regular post from time to time as I keep track of all the fun things I have done.

Chicago:

People use the edge of Lake Michigan as a lap pool

Dallas:

Has underground tunnels...that is where everyone is because its climate controlled and as Justin says "bumless"

Los Angeles:

Uses helicopters to chase criminals on a weekly basis. Spotlights and helicopters fly above your residence until the suspect has been caught, which makes TV night nearly impossible.

Spain:

Has 4 official languages people! Yes 4! Yes official! Ok wiki says 5 and they aren't official, but rather co-official. Anna please confirm, but they should be Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician. And wiki names Aranese.

Birthday Scarf

With the Desert Mariposa Lily yarn that I posted awhile back, I crocheted my friend, Alicia, a summer scarf for her Birthday. I love the yarn, it made for a really soft and stretchy scarf. I know knitters and crocheters alike would kill me for using the most basic single crochet stitch to make it. But it came out super nice. If I would have tried a fancy pattern it would have been full of mistakes. Anywho...she got it. Here she is looking very beautiful! I got to wear it on my trip to Milwaukee because it was 50 degrees that day. And even though its 105 most days in DFW, the air conditioning can be pretty intense, so she can use it for going to the cinema, shopping, and really cold restaurants or working from her home office. She has a blog too about her vegan journey and other fun stuff! You can find her here: http://aliciabrooks.blogspot.com/

New Yarn

Yay! New crochet project! So I got some feedback, but I decided to go with my original yarn colors...sorry Kayla! But here they are, I like the priority mail text inside the box! I am going to need a lot more yarn than this, but I wanted to work up a couple of rows and gauge how much I will need. I ordered it online (caron.com) and it shipped from within my state and the shipping was super cheap. This way I am not left high and dry if the stores run out of my colors and I am being eco-friendly. I will keep you posted on my progress. And I have also started my Dad's scarf and have finished Alicia's. Alicia's post is coming next.

Where are you from? And what is THAT in my bloody mary? Questions from Milwaukee...

Yesterday we went to Milwaukee mainly to visit the museum there. But walked around town. Not much there to be honest, but it was still fun.

A chatty museum worker asked us where we were from. This is a question I get a lot these days. I am not sure if its because I stand out or if I just notice the question more, since my answer is now a little complicated. We answered the question "We are originally from Texas, but live in Chicago." But when I first moved to Chicago, Chicagoans would ask the same question and since I hadn't lived in Texas for 2 years I would answer "Originally from Texas but have been in LA for 2 years." I have lately dropped the "LA" from my answer.

But this whole "Where are you from?" brought questions to mind. What did I say when I did live in Texas? What do you all say? Do you state the city you live or the city you grew up? Or simply say "here"? I really think people who engage in small talk with strangers should really be asking "Where do you live? This is a question, with a fast answer. If we end up having beers later, then you can ask where I am from.

We ran out of things to do there, so we ended up drinking for the last 2.5 hours or so. I was drinking beer but I kept seeing people ordering these crazy bloody mary's with what appeared to be oodles of nooodles (Udon to be exact). But Udon it was not, it was CHEESE. Cheese along with a shish kabob of: olive, mushroom, pickle, SLIMJIM, and shrimp. Maybe I am just not a cultured bloody mary drinker, but I have never seen anything so wild.

The only other observation I had during my short visit to Milwaukee was that most people that were drinking beer, were drinking Corona. WTH? This is the home of the brewers and they are drinking the most disgusting beer on Earth?

To hold you over...

Here are some renderings that I made for that competition we did NOT win. Boo! Oh well life goes on. I said I would post these awhile ago, but forgot. Random people out there who want to steal my images....good luck to you, these did not win me anything. But please don't steal them, I worked very hard. I would put a watermark on them, but whats the use? If you know photoshop....you will just photoshop it out.

Well more crochet is coming...hoping to finish my current project tonight.

Color Recommendations

So I am starting a blanket soon. I will either do a granny square or a ripple blanket. Examples of each can be found here and here. Curious if anyone has any color scheme ideas. I kinda want to keep it to 6 colors or under. Please leave a comment if you have any ideas. This is one I am thinking of. But please suggest another, I need more input before starting such a big project.

Running the Komen Race

If you want to donate, they gave me a website. Yes I have another website to maintain now! But its for a good cause. If you know my friend Kayla, her Mom, Kathy, beat breast cancer this year! I will be running for her! And for all who have suffered. It's not until September, so plenty of time to save. And plenty of time to get in shape for a 5k. Here's the site. You have to click on "support a participant" on the left side of the page and then enter my name...Elizabeth Guzejka

http://komenchicagoraceforthecure.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=298635&lis=0&kntae298635=EB50E20267AE4F189D056ED107AE098A

illegally blogging to give you a hard time

I am banned from the internet at work, but I logged in to post a reminder. If you read this blog, please become my friend by clicking the "follow" button on the right hand side of the page underneath the blogs I follow. It will NOT send you updates to your email address, I promise.

There is a new to-do list titled "In the bucket" on the right side of my page. If you want me to make you something, leave me a comment on my blog and I will add you.