By Any Other Name...

I found this over at Robin's blog. I even copied her idea of adding my own comments:

What Becky Means

You are full of energy. (When I was younger maybe...)You are spirited and boisterous. You are bold and daring. (Who me?)You are willing to do some pretty outrageous things. (Are you kidding?) Your high energy sometimes gets you in trouble. You can have a pretty bad temper at times. (Ok, I confess. But I try to keep it in check.) You are friendly, charming, and warm. (I am? Do they have the right person?)You get along with almost everyone. (I try to at least.) You work hard not to rock the boat. (Not me. Rock away!)Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. (huh?) You are a naturally creative person. (As if you couldn't tell that already.) Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life. You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip. (One thing I can do is to keep a secret. If you ask me not to say anything, you can be assured that I will keep your secret for as long as I live.) People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them. (Or else my shyness is kicking in.) You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. (Definitely, and this gets me in trouble too.) You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Then I tried it again using my full name, and the results are slightly different:

What Rebecca Means

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. (Oh, yeah!)You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are full of energy. You are spirited and boisterous. You are bold and daring. You are willing to do some pretty outrageous things. Your high energy sometimes gets you in trouble. You can have a pretty bad temper at times. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. (I am a perfectionist.) You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. (I don't think I'm aggressive.) You have the classic "Type A" personality.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

For Real?

A few weeks ago, Lou had a link to this site on her blog. I've seen it before, and done it before. I just finally got brave enough to post my results. Different pictures have gotten me different results, but the one constant has been Susan Sarandon. I don't even like her all that much. I think the only movie she's ever done that I have liked is "Little Women."

Just one thing, Larry King????? You've got to be kidding!

Strange Things Dogs Do

Brittani has a little dog named Bella.

Bella likes her back scratched.

If she can't find someone to scratch her back, she will do it herself.

She really enjoys it.

A Higher Standard?

Are the Dallas Cowboys held to a higher standard than other professional football teams? I don't know if I can answer that, but I do wonder sometimes.

They lost their last game of the season Sunday afternoon. They played against the Washington Redskins. They played rather poorly at that. But there are some things to be taken into consideration.

The Cowboys didn't really have anything to play for. They'd already clinched the NFC East, the first round bye, and home field advantage. The game, won or lost, wouldn't change anything for them as far as playoffs go. The Redskins, on the other hand, needed to win to make the playoffs. Not only that, they had gone through some tough times here recently, what with the death of Sean Taylor just a few short weeks ago. Yeah, they were more emotional about the game, and more motivated to win.

The Cowboys didn't want to risk injury to their starters going into the playoffs. Wade Phillips let Tony Romo break Danny White's last remaining record (most completions in a single season), then benched him for the rest of the game.

(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

Terrell Owens was out injured, as were four other starters. Terry Glenn played until he got his feet knocked out from under him, then he was benched. Even DeMarcus Ware was benched after the half. Heck, just one series into the second half, there wasn't a starter left on the field--except on the Washington team. They played all their starters (except the injured ones) the entire game. A bit of a mismatch, there.

Then there's the lingering question of Tony Romo's injured thumb. Not long after the Carolina game, he finally almost admitted how badly it really did hurt. Could it still be affecting his play?

So, yeah, they didn't play that well...but


They are still going to the playoffs.

They are still division champions.

They are still the number 1 seed in the NFC.

They still tied the record of the most wins in franchise history.

The have still set a buttload of individual and franchise records.

They still have as good or better of a record than any other team except the unbeaten Patriots.

They still have 11 players going to the pro bowl, including backup running back Marion Barber. Tell me, when was the last time you ever heard of a backup going to the pro bowl?

(STREETER LECKA/AFP/Getty Images)

But they lost.

When that game was finished, I turned over to watch the Indianapolis Colts do the exact same thing. Midway through the second quarter, Coach Tony Dungy emptied their bench and basically handed the game to the Titans. For three and a half quarters, Peyton Manning, Joseph Addai, Reggie Wayne, and the rest of the Colts' starters rode the bench. The second and third string played against the Titans' first team. And the Colts lost. You know who else lost this week? Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, Seattle, and the Giants. All playoff bound. In fact, of the 10 teams who had already clinched a playoff berth, only three of them won. The other seven lost. Dallas was only one of them.

But where, I ask you, (that’s rhetorical, I don’t really expect an answer) was the analysis on how poorly these teams played? Where was the concern that they wouldn’t have momentum going into the playoffs? Where were the so called experts commenting that their play had really gone down hill since the first part of the season? Where was the questioning whether they still had a running game? Where were the subtle barbs in the comparisons between them and the Giants (as in “The Giants didn’t have anything to play for either but they played their guts out anyway.”) Where were the commentators mentioning that these teams looked like they were just going through the motions?

Think about it. The Boys have finished tied with the best won-loss record in club history (which has only happened once before in some 48 years) and yet they are being disparaged as if the record were 3-13 instead of 13-3. They finish with the exact same record as Green Bay and Indianapolis, yet nobody is asking what is wrong with those two clubs. Brett Favre had a bad game against Chicago last week. Peyton Manning had a bad game against San Diego a few weeks back. So where are the people calling those two a flash in the pan?

The Patriots finished 16-0. They are being hailed as the best football team ever, and tagged with descriptors like phenomenal, amazing, and miracle. The Cowboys finish anything less than 16-0, and they are called many things, not least of which is losers. Why?

Because they are the Dallas Cowboys.

(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

There was a bright spot to the day. One of the commentators remarked that Jessica Simpson would be asking Washington Quarterback Todd Collins out now.

(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

We should be so lucky.

Stashalong 2008

It took me a long time to come up with some Stashalong goals. I did this last year, and I think I ended up with more yarn than I started with. That sort of defeats the purpose of stashalonging, so I figured I'd better do something different this year. My ultimate goal is to reduce the amount of yarn languishing in my stash. In order to accomplish this, I decided on the following:

I will not buy any new yarn for two months at a time. For each two month period, I will allow myself one free day. If I should win a free day for a KAL within a KAL or any other reason, that will count as my free day for the two months. I will only have one free day for each two month period, regardless.

Even my free days will have some restrictions, though. Those are: the total yarn purchased on free days must be less than the amount of yarn knitted up during those two months. For example, if I knit up three skeins of yarn, then I may only buy two skeins--or less. Free yarn gained in swaps or trades or won in contests counts as my free day. If I don't use my free day, it is forfeit.

The exception to these goals will be if I need something specific for a gift or charity knitting and have already used my free day. If I haven't used my free day, then gift or charity knitting will count as the free day for that period. If I have used my free day, then I must purchase ONLY what is required for the gift/charity project.

The only exemption is dishcloth cotton. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to continue with my monthly dishcloth KAL. If I do decide to continue, then I will have to buy suitable cotton yarn, but I will buy ONLY what I need for the KAL.

Boy, it sounds like I'm being really hard on myself, but that is what it will take to get my stash under control.

Happy New Year

Wishing everyone a healthy and happy 2008.



Been busy watching football all day, and the Sugar Bowl is on now.



I'll talk to you tomorrow.

First Words

I did this meme last year, and enjoyed it so much I thought I'd do it again. What you do is to post the first sentence you blogged for each month of the year. Here goes:

January--I've never been one for making resolutions.

February--These people I work with just crack me up sometimes.

March--A variation on one I already did.

April--I suffer from a most unusual malady.

May--After many hours installing and fiddling, I am sort of back online.

June--Stashalong is having a KAL within a KAL for the month of June.

July--Because it's one of those days when I can't think of a thing to say.

August--It all started with the pads.

September--Got any yarn you're not quite sure what to do with it?

October--A very respected friend of mine, who is also a 6th dan in Isshinryu, recently found a website with the following paragraph on it

November--More about this later...

December--But first, let me say that hosting this contest has been a lot of fun.

One Down

Three to go. I knit the majority of this charity scarf in two days. It was a lot of mindless garter stitch; fortunately I had some good--and some not so good--football games to watch while plugging away at it. And some Journeyman reruns.

I've got one more football game to watch, then regular season will be over. All I have left are bowl games and playoffs. Then it will be over.

Sigh, what am I going to do with myself until August?

Saturday Skies and Sweets

Ball game's on in ten minutes.

The Gauntlet

has been thrown down, and by me, no less. What started as a casual observation yesterday has morphed into a full fledged challenge.

The observation? I only have 4 projects OTN at the moment. They are:

1. Tidal Wave Socks:

2. Branching Out Lace Scarf:

3. Garter Stitch Scarf:

4. One Row Scarf:


The challenge? Complete all four of these projects before casting on anything new. It'll be up to you, dear readers, to help me complete this challenge.

Speaking of challenges, it's time to sign up for Stashalong '08. Now, for Stashalong '07, we had specific plans to choose from. This next year, however, we have a more carte blanche method of choosing our goals. Basically, the rules are 1) Set your goals, 2) Post them, and 3) Update the blog monthly.

I'm going to have to think about my goals pretty carefully. Last year, I'd made the goal that I wouldn't buy any new yarn until I'd finished 10 projects--the exceptions being gift and charity knitting. Though the list got shuffled a bit, I finished 9 of my 10 projects--the infamous Branching Out that I recently ripped being the only incomplete one.

Even so, with all the free days I won in various contests, I ended up with more yarn than I started out with. That kind of defeats the purpose of a destashing blog. I'll have to think on this a bit more, and get back with you.

I'll have my goals up by Jan 1.

Success!

We left the house around 10:00 AM to go on the great guitar hunt. The first place we stopped was Batesville, which is the next town up the road. We drove all over that town looking for a music store, but didn't find one. We even looked at Wal-mart. I know they'd had some before Christmas, but they were all sold out. Yeah, I know, probably not the best quality, but good enough for him to start out on and see if that is something he really wants to do. He can always upgrade later on.

After not having any luck in Batesville, we headed farther North up the road. The plan was to head on up to Southaven, which is the next big town on that road. They have lots of shops there, so I figured we'd surely find something there. We never made it that far.

About 15-20 minutes outside of Batesville is a little town called Senatobia. I've never been there. Or if I have, it's been so long I don't even remember going there. On impulse, I whipped off the highway and said, "Let's look and see what they have here." Lo and behold, as soon as we hit the town, I spotted it. A sign with a guitar on it. A music store.

We went in and a really nice man helped us pick out a good beginner package for Cody. I also got him a book to learn from. When we were checking out, I asked if the package had picks in it. It didn't and the man let us pick out 4 picks and didn't even charge us for them. I asked him about warranty, and he said that any warranty would just cover the electronics part of it. Then he said, "But don't worry. If anything happens, just bring it back up here and I'll fix you up." Good, that.

We got it home, set it up, and everything worked. We got it tuned pretty closely and Cody plucked away at it for a little while.


Then he put his new guitar away and said, "Mama, I wish you would start playing your guitar again." Y'all didn't even know I had a guitar, did you? I do. It's an acoustic one, not electric. I'd always wanted to learn to play the guitar, so several years ago, I bought one. I was learning to play, but then Cody started kindergarten, and time just seemed to slip away from me. I hadn't touched it since.

At Cody's request, I got it back out, tuned it up, and did lesson one in my Learn To Play Guitar book.

Maybe this time, I'll stick with it.

The socks were a success, too. I finished them this morning before we left.

Here's a wild thought. I have three scarves and one pair of socks left OTN. Do you think I can finish all four projects before casting on anything new? I'm gonna try it.

Christmas In Pictures

What was in Cody's stocking?

"Do I get a present?"

"Oh boy! A new mousie!"

Cody's loot--except the books, they are mine.

Learning to play the new guitar.

"I'm glad that amplifier doesn't work!"

New sock yarns

And I got this much done on my second watermelon sock while watching new MASH DVDs. I've gotten a little more done on it since this picture was taken. I hope to be through with it in the next day or two.

We stayed home today, but tomorrow we are going to venture out and see if we can find Cody a new electric guitar. The one Cody got didn't work. I suspect it's the amplifier. It's going back to the store posthaste. I told him I'd get him a good one if we have to drive all the way to Memphis for it.

If you are interested, all my Christmas photos for 2007 can be found here.

Christmas Day

I stepped on the dog.

My son smarted off to me.

I poked myself in the eye with a pair of scissors.

I overcooked the turkey.

I forgot to cook the rolls.

Cody's electric guitar didn't work.

But...

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His Glory; glory as of the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1: 14

Photo courtesy of Webshots.

Christmas was good.

The Fictional Character I Most Want To Be Like

I think you may be a bit surprised by my choice. It's not Galadriel, or Arwen, or Xena the Warrior Princess or any of the strong, beautiful women out there. No, the fictional character I would most want to be like is

Ebeneezer Scrooge.

Huh? Why would I want to be like Scrooge? He was a

tight-fisted hand at the grindstone,...a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner...hard and sharp as flint, ...as solitary as an oyster.

Aren't there enough Scrooges out there? It would seem that there were. All over blogland and the web I've seen evidence of his presence. Those who've grown hard and bitter toward Christmas, because it's become too commercial, or it has lost it's true focus, or the pressure to buy, buy, buy has grown so great. So these people let society determine how they will, or will not celebrate, Christmas.

Yes, refusing to celebrate because you don't like the societal pressures is allowing someone else to dictate how you celebrate your holidays.

So why would I want to be like that?

I don't. The world has plenty of those. That's the image people have of Scrooge, but it is an inaccurate one. You see, most people forget that something happened to Scrooge.

He changed.

Now, what happened to bring about that change is an interesting story, but it is less relevant than the fact that he became a different person. So what did happen to Scrooge?

He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for...his own heart laughed: and that was quite good enough for him...and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that truly be said of us, and all of us!

That's the Scrooge I want to be. Someone who still finds joy in Christmas. Someone who still loves the lights, and the trees, and the decorations, and putting a dollar or two in the Salvation Army bucket. Someone who still sheds a tear when reading the Christmas story from the Bible.

Someone who knows how to keep Christmas well.

To all my friends out there in blogland, those whom I've met in person, and those whom I've only met online, I wish you the most joyous of Christmases. I love you all, and leave you with this wish:

As Tiny Tim observed, God bless US, Every One!

Merry Christmas Eve!

I don't know if I'll get back on later today. In case I don't, here are some new Strange and Ironic Photos for you to enjoy, taken this morning during Rylea's walk.

Winter Moon

Frosted Wire

Edited to add: Cody calls this one A Frosty Barb

And if I don't see you, Merry Christmas to all!