1. I have started and stopped making this list at least five or six times now, ever since Amy of the Creative Mom Podcast gave the 100 Things list as a prompt. My 100 Things never seem as interesting as other people’s 100 Things. Also, I have a long standing and chronic issue with finishing things.
2. I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but I’ve never actually lived there.
3. I actually live in Southern Indiana, which is right across the river from Louisville, but I consider this merely a technicality. Let’s not get bogged down with reality. When people ask me where I live, I almost always tell them Louisville.
4. My first name is Holly. My mother named me after a character on General Hospital.
5. My birthday is February 5, 1984. I think it’s an awesome birthday. February is such a blah month here in the Midwest, and it’s nice to have something to look forward to. I still get excited about my birthday like a little kid, and I hope that never changes.
Here’s a picture of me as a baby with my beautiful soap opera lovin’ Mama:
6. So far, I’ve lived in the states of Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio, and Washington.
7. I met my husband, Bob, on the internet when I was 15 and fell in love with him at 16. This isn’t really a course of action I would recommend to a teenager. It all worked out for us, but it was a long, hard road and I feel like there was some divine intervention involved. See number 9.
8. I’ve been with Bob for eight years total, and married for a little over one.
9. My Dad died of a heart attack at 47, just a few months before I met
Bob. I don’t buy into a lot of supernatural crap, but deep down I feel
like my father somehow guided me to Bob as a way of taking care of me
from beyond the beyond. (Cue X-Files music.)
10. We had a baby on October 18, 2007 and she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
Then:
Now:
11. We named her Iris Ellen. We got the name Iris because my husband used to run across lots of old fashioned names when he worked in Medicare, and when he brought it up to me it just felt like the right name. I also love that it means “rainbow”. Ellen is my middle name, and it’s been passed down on my mother’s side of the family for many generations. It means “bright”.
12. I hated being pregnant, but I’m willing to go through it all again for that fresh newborn smell.
13. How many kids would I like to have? I’m not totally sure. I think I’ll just know when I have that last baby, you know? I think I’ll feel a sense of completion. If I had to guess a number, I would say four. At least one more for sure, then after that we’ll just have to see how life goes.
14. I had never had any surgeries before I got pregnant with Iris. In 2007, I had two. She was
delivered by Cesarean, and less than two months later, I had to have my
gall bladder removed. Surgery isn’t much fun, but at least I got some cool scars out of the deal!
15. At six feet tall, I’m taller than most people I know, including my husband. (But that’s mostly because he slouches.)
16. I’ve been fat for the majority of my life. I was pretty much resigned to it, but I got tired of not being able to do all the things I want to do, so I joined Weight Watchers and lost a smidge over 50 pounds. Then I got pregnant and inevitably gained some, but not all, of that back. It took me several months after Iris was born to get back in my weight loss groove. I had to give myself permission to start over. I’m not quite back to where I was pre-pregnancy, but I know I’m headed in the right direction.
17. Before I learned how to knit, I learned how to crochet in a Crafts class I took in my last year of high school. I loved crocheting. I loved making fabric out of string! It was amazing! I felt compelled to learn more.
18. My friend Mallery taught me how to knit in January 2004. She was home for a visit from college at the time, but had to return the day after she taught me. After my initial lesson (which didn’t include the purl stitch) I was on my own. I learned the rest of what I needed to know from books, most notably Debbie Stoller’s Stitch n’ Bitch. For whatever reason, knitting spoke to me in a way crochet didn’t.
19. I hate to sound melodramatic, but knitting pretty much saved my life. It kept me going through a very hard time in my life. I sought out yarn stores that carried this mysterious stuff called “wool”, and there I found not just wool, but a community where I belonged.
20. The first time I went into my LYS, I was stunned at how expensive everything was. I couldn’t really afford anything on my cashier’s paycheck, but felt like I should buy something after I’d been sitting there enjoying the atmosphere all day. I would up with two skeins of Lamb’s Pride Bulky, which at 7.00 a skein was the cheapest thing in the store. I made the Ribbed for Her Pleasure scarf from Stitch n’ Bitch.
21. That is probably the first and last time I will ever make a plain black scarf. I don’t even know where it is now!
22. Also, that scarf taught me that I have a sensitivity to mohair. I wouldn’t say I’m allergic, since I can handle it without problems and it doesn’t give a rash or make me sneeze, but wearing it in a garment makes me itchy.
23. My favorite thing that I’ve knit so far would have to be my Clapotis. I used the yarn called for in the pattern (Lorna’s Laces Lion and Lamb). It’s definitely a luxury yarn, but I loved the knitting and still love the wearing. It’s the scarf I reach for as soon as there’s a hint of chill in the air. It’s the scarf that I’m sad to say goodbye too every spring.
Took pictures of myself modeling my Clapotis on the deck in the middle of summer because I feel it’s important to give the neighbors something to wonder about.
24. I’m not sure what the ugliest thing I’ve ever made is. I guess that would be subjective. Probably the first scarf I knit (before the black one), using three colors of super bulky Red Heart acrylic. Youch. I don’t exactly consider myself a “yarn snob” but IMO, “super bulky” and “acrylic” are two words that shouldn’t be in the same sentence. It practically squeaks when you move your neck. And the yarn was slick, so I never really got the ends to weave in satisfactorily. I would take a picture so you can judge for yourself, but I can’t find it. I hope someone had the common sense to get rid of it!
25. I’ve had this blog since March 1, 2006. I forget my dang
blogivesary every year without fail. Maybe I should send my blog a
dozen roses to make up for it.
26. I actually started my first
knitting blog in 2005, but I quit because I didn’t really know anyone
else who was knit blogging and I thought it was kind of a strange and
embarrassing hobby. (Which of course, it is… but also, lots of fun!)
27.
I’ve never really been satisfied with my blog’s name. It used to be
Golightly Knits, from a nickname I acquired at a previous job, but I
never cared for it. There are a lot of Golightlies floating around the
internet, and also several other knitting blogs that reference
Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Knit on my Cat was supposed to be a play on Stuff on my Cat,
but honestly, I don’t have that much time these days to chase my cats
around with a camera. I would love to change the blog’s title now, but
it seems like a lot of work.
28. If the blog was actually
titled based on the content I post, it would have to be called
“Pictures of Knitted Stuff on my Deck”. Sadly, that’s not a very catchy
title.
29. I love getting comments! (Yes, this a shameless solicitation for
more comments.)
30. Some jobs I have had: scooping poop in a dog kennel, stocking shelves in a department store, cashiering at a grocery store and gas station (full time for three years), and customer service for a phone company. (Worst job I’ve ever had. WAY worse than poop scooping!)
31. Currently, I’m working from home processing health insurance claims. It’s not fun or particularly satisfying, but it helps support our family and allows me be home with Iris, which I can’t even put a price tag on. My mom comes over and helps me take are of her while I work, and so far it’s been a happy arrangement for everyone involved.
32. Some jobs I have dreamed of having at one time or another: Author, Archaeologist, Museum Curator, Librarian, the person who comes up with witty sayings for t-shirts…
33. When I’m done with having babies of my own, and once those babies are grown up a little bit, I think I’d like to go back to school and become a lactation consultant. I had a lot of challenges with feeding Iris, and the help of a good lactation consultant saved our nursing relationship.
34. In my dreams, there are alternate versions of places that exist (or once existed) in my real life. My dreams are usually pretty vivid and memorable, and sometimes I even find myself “following” a dream from night to night in sequence.
35. I’m pretty much a joiner, as evidenced by this list, my blog, and a lot of my knitting projects.
36. I love horror movies. I think this is because my mom didn’t let me watch anything above a PG rating until I was…. well, actually, she never really let me, she just lost control of the situation when I started going out on my own. I used to stand in the horror section at movie stores and read the boxes and dream of the day when I could watch any one I wanted. Now that I can, I do.
37. Really, I should just say I like all kinds of movies. The only kinds of movies I don’t care for much are romance and war movies.
38. Just to prove that there’s an exception to every rule, I like Full Metal Jacket (definitely a war movie) and The Bridges of Madison County (definitely a romance).
39. Some of my favorite movies, in no particular order: Kill Bill, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Bad Seed, The Little Mermaid, Oldboy, and Jaws 2.
40. I will watch any movie that features a shark or dinosaurs, no matter how awful.
41. I don’t like plain coffee, but I am a sucker for expensive flavored latte beverages, ala Starbucks.
42. I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 18. I don’t miss meat at all. I wasn’t all that crazy about it in the first place.
43. I’ve tried going vegan on a number of occasions, but it’s never worked out because I have a deep rooted weakness for cheese. I guess if that’s my greatest moral failing, I could be doing worse.
44. The worst thing about being a vegetarian is answering awkward questions about why you are not eating meat at dinners where everyone else at the table is eating meat.
45. The best thing about being a vegetarian is Tofu Bacon (which happens to be low in points). Oh wait, maybe it’s General Tao’s Tofu (definitely NOT low in points!)
46. I almost never wear makeup and have a hard time understanding people who do. It’s not that I think it’s a horrible thing to do. We’re all vain about something! I just can’t imagine putting in that kind of time and money and energy into my face.
47. If Iris wants to wear makeup when she’s older, I won’t stop her, but she’ll have to find someone else to advise her on the subject.
48. Fortunately, she should have people in her family to help. My mom and sister are very into makeup.
49. I like to travel, but it also makes me extremely anxious.
50. Before Bob moved here, we both spent a lot of time traveling back and forth between Indiana and Washington- roughly 2000 miles one way. I would estimate that I’ve spent a month of my life on Greyhound or Amtrak.
51. I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was 21.
52. As a child and teenager, I was a voracious reader.
53. Unfortunately, most of what I read was the book equivalent of junk food. Lots of Sweet Valley High and Fear Street.
54. I still like reading, but knitting put a major dent in my reading time. Now, after Iris goes to sleep, you’ll most likely find me knitting or sewing while listening to an audio book on my Ipod.
55. My favorite audio book of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, read by Sissy Spaceck.
56. Some other favorite books: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, His Dark Materials Trilogy by Phillip Pullman, the Harry Potter series, and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
57. I have a hard time sleeping unless my feet are covered up, no matter how hot it is.
58. I sang in my school’s choir in elementary school, then played clarinet in junior high. I still love to sing, even if my only audience is Iris.
59. I have a pretty good memory for song lyrics.
60. In the sixth grade, I was the Queen in my school’s production of the Princess and Pea. It was the part with the most lines, thank you very much.
61. Colors I Love: purple, pink, lime green, red, sky blue, teal, dark brown
62. Colors I Could Take or Leave: yellow and orange
63. Color I Hate: mint green
64. I am a good speller, which I think is half luck and half due to lots of reading.
65. One of the things I want to do when I lose weight is travel.
66. So far, the only foreign country I’ve ever visited is Canada.
67. Someday, I’d love to visit Japan.
68. I used to play a lot of video games. I’ve clocked well over a hundred hours on Final Fantasy VII and innumerable hours on The Sims and The Sims 2.
69. I am actually a pretty nerdy person.
70. I went through a period of being obsessed with Star Wars.
71. I don’t have any tattoos, but think about getting a tattoo a lot. Since I change my mind all the time, I’m unlikely to ever actually get a tattoo.
72. I never went to college. Sometimes, that makes me feel dumb. But then I meet people who went to college and have umpteen degrees after their name and I’m like, “Really?!?!?”
73. I hope Iris goes to college. No, scratch that. I hope Iris follows her dreams and does what she needs to do to be happy in life, college or not.
74. I really love my mom. We’ve had a rocky relationship since I was a teenager, but I feel like I understand her better since becoming a mother myself. Also, she is an awesome Nana. Iris loves her to bits and pieces.
75. I used to have a knitting podcast called Film and Fiber. It was about knitting and watching movies. I put out a short episode last July saying that I would be back soon and then I never put out another episode. I still think about trying to start up again, but I’m not sure I ever will. I feel really guilty about it though. I hope people don’t think I died or something.
76. I took Latin as a foreign language in high school. I still remember some of the conjugating stuff.
77. I have an irrational fear of cockroaches and talking on the phone to customer service people.
78. If I had the space, time, and power tools, I would love to learn how to make my own furniture. I think I have “I can make that!” syndrome from years of knitting.
79. One of my reasons for wanting to lose weight is so I can make my own sweaters faster and with less yarn.
80. I saw George Carlin live a few years ago. I feel lucky that I got to see him before he died. I knit my first sock during the show.
81. I’m trying really hard not to use disposable shopping bags anymore. Reducing my ecological footprint and what not.
82. I’m annoyed by what I consider rampant overuse of the word “green”.
83. I quit drinking soda recently, except for as a once in a while treat. I quit partly because it is not very healthy, but mostly because I think it sets a bad example for Iris.
84. I survived high school by drinking no less than a 12 pack of Surge every day. Again, this is not a course of action I would recommend to anyone. Oh, I miss Surge so much.
85. I am long winded, also as evidenced by this list.
86. My favorite shoes are Crocs. I only have one pair (lime green!) that I wear pretty much daily.
87. I don’t like being “trendy”, and I know Crocs are trendy. I love them so much that I wear them anyway.
88. If I had lots of money, I would have a pair in every color. And I would hire an army of knitters to make me matching wool socks so I could wear them in the winter.
89. I was raised in the Church of Christ, but I’m not religious now.
90. If I was forced to pick a religion that my personal beliefs most closely coincide with, I would probably say Secular Humanism.
91. I hate it when people start talking about politics or religion in yarn stores. It really brings me down from my wool fume induced high.
92. Speaking of wool fumes, I just love the smell of yarn.
93. I am terribly disorganized, but I enjoy the idea of organization.
94. Ravelry appeals to the organizing part of my personality.
95. I try very hard to be fair and give people the benefit of the doubt, sometimes past the point that they deserve it.
96. I am extremely non-confrontational, probably to an unhealthy degree.
97. Reading over this list so far, I realize that I overuse words like “really”, “also”, and “maybe”. Also, I am maybe a bit liberal with my exclamation points.
98. I can be overly enthusiastic at times. I tend to get carried away and start yelling, but I often don’t realize this has happened until after the fact. I think this scares people.
99. If I could change one thing about myself, I would be less socially awkward.
100. I can’t believe I actually finished this list!
Knit on My Cat 