My Two Cents...

I typically do not comment on gossip (really?) and entertainment news (no, really?) Alright, I am lying, but of this I am sure, I have never commented on sports-related entertainment gossip. Whew! That was a mouthful, but the truth, nonetheless.

But, on the Tiger Woods debacle, I really can't help myself today. Maybe because my husband is a golf professional, and my children recognize Tiger over any other athlete in this world, I feel the need to put my two cents in...

Tiger, seriously? Did you really have to be a pig?

Random Friday, Plus a Milestone Contest

Just a couple of random thoughts this Friday afternoon:

1) It's Christmas!
The month of November whizzed past and now we are at the forefront of the Christmas holidays. Here, in the States, they have this rule about not putting up your Christmas decorations until after the Thanksgiving holiday. I remember in the Philippines, once Halloween and the All Saints Day holidays are over, the Christmas decorations go up instantly. Sometimes even as early as October.

It's only the first weekend of December, and already, I am feeling like I am falling behind on all things Christmas-y. Our Christmas cards have to be written and sent out. Our Christmas decorations are still up in our attic, with the still, broken stairs. The only thing I am not worried about right now is the Christmas shopping list, because this year, we decided to make a significant family donation for the victims of Typhone Ondoy in the Philppines.

Don't worry, I sent a message to all those on our regular Christmas list of our intentions this year and encouraged them all to do the same, or at least for what they had in mind for our family.

While it filled the hearts of my husband and myself to do it, the kids were not as happy to find out that they weren't getting as many gifts this year as they usually do. But, they'll learn.

2) Deep-fried Turkey is great!
On the Thanksgiving table this year was a deep-fried turkey. It was excellent. Now I understand when people say it's one of the best ways to have it. I agree.

Plus, the fact that deep-frying a Turkey is such a "manly" thing to do, it takes all the "womanly" duties over that bird away from me. Then I get to concentrate on making all the other stuff that make that meal one of the most memorable of the year.

All the horror stories about the dangers of deep-frying turkey scare me half to death though.

3) New Moon
I watched New Moon with my girlfriends on Black Friday, instead of going shopping. I don't care what people think, I liked it. It is already well known that I am on Team Robert, not Team Edward. But, that Taylor Lautner? Goodness me.

If he weren't so young, I could very well switch allegiance. Fine, I'm could be a traitor.

4) NaNoWriMo
I conceded defeat at NaNoWriMO. It's pathetic, I got as far as 700 words and could not write anymore. Maybe the story still was not ready for me to write. Yeah, blame it on the story.

In truth, I think I wasn't ready to jump into it just yet. I was working on other things and I thought maybe I could squeeze this in. I couldn't. Everyday that passed that I could not add to my word count became a source of pressure and tension to me. Writing the story for NaNo became something that was not making me happy. So, I stopped.

I was very happy though to find that there was a rather large group of NaNo participants from the Philippines. The group was even larger that the group in my local regional area.

I will try again next year.

5) This blog is reaching 11,000 hits.
My statcounter tells me that this blog is approaching 11,000 hits since it's inception in May 2006. WOW! In honor of this milestone, and as a thank you to those who have followed me for so long, I am having a little contest. The prize will be a specially hand-knitted item by me. The winner will get to choose the piece from five designs I will send him/her by e-mail. Delivery will be made by March 31, 2010.

In order to win, simply send me an e-mail at theknittymommyATgmailDOTcom telling me what your favorite blogpost was from the entire year of 2009. Please enter "Milestone Contest Entry" as the subject of the e-mail. The magic fingers of the Knittykids, K and R, will chose the lucky winner.

Deadline for entries is 12/15/2009.

I am looking forward to hearing from you!


Happy weekend everybody!

On The Eve of My Son's Birthday

Back in March, I posted a poem I wrote for my son, R. He's turning six tomorrow and I thought it might be nice to re-post my little poem (rather than point to a link to it.)

He really does amaze me so...

HERO


My son,
today you think you are Harry Potter.
You choose to wear your corduroy blazer;
with a little school tie.
You've colored one of your drumsticks black with a permanent marker.
It’s a good thing I caught you,
just before you drew the famous scar on your face.
An eyebrow pencil will do just as well, in its place.

Two days ago, you were Spiderman,
the other day, the Blue Power Ranger.
Sometimes you are Buzz Lightyear, and even Batman.
How many more characters do you have inside you, my dear?
With all the heroes you portray, I think I have nothing to fear.

The realm of your imagination never ceases to amaze me, young man.
How I wish I could dare to daydream just as you do.
Without boundary; without care.
I wish to be as free as you.
I wish to run away in my thoughts too.
I wonder, wonder,
What will I bring back if I do?

Happy Birthday my favorite son... I only have one.

Psst... I have a secret...

I'm typically not the type to tell people what I am up to, especially if it's something I want to come true. But this time around, I thought you just might want to know, and maybe you can help cheer me on.

I joined NaNoWriMo. 50,000 words in the whole month of November.

This is a first for me, and a huge step in the direction I wish to take my writing. Wish me luck, okay?

I'll let you know about the results and what I came up with after November 30, 2009. See ya then!

My TV Favorites

I am a TV person. Anyone in my family will tell you that the first thing in my house to be turned on in the morning is the TV. It is also the last thing that is turned off, well, second to the computer. That's another story all together.

Anyway, this is the first TV season, that I really paid attention to the shows' season premiers, and the debuting series. Of the new shows to come out this season, here are a few that have gotten me hooked.

Flash Forward

Imagine having the chance to take a 2.17-minute glance of your life, six months into future? What did you see? Would you like what you saw? Would being your own prophet be an opportunity or a curse to you? What would you do, now that you know?

Starring Joseph Fiennes (from Shakespeare In Love) and Justin Cho (Harold from Harold and Kumar, and most recently, Star Trek), Thursday nights at 8:00 pm EST on ABC.


Glee

The quirky, highschool musical drama-dy that's taking the nation by storm. It's an extremely entertaining show, filled with songs and dance, teenage and adult sexual tension, and growing pains all-around. It just makes for a fun middle-of-the-week show.

Wednesday nights at 9:00 pm EST on FOX.



Now, this next show's first season has already finished, as it aired over the summer, but I just recently discovered it. Thank God for Showtime On Demand. I'm fully caught up on the first season, and eagerly awaiting the next one.

Nurse Jackie


"Make me good, God. Just not yet."

This show is so frank and honest about the vocation one must have as a nurse. Mind you, Nurse Jackie is certainly not what we have come to expect from the nursing profession. The only way to describe Nurse Jackie's character is amoral. I love the juxtaposition of such an amoral character(pain killer addict, cheating wife, unfiltered potty-mouth, and a mother with her own shortcomings) against the backdrop of a Catholic hospital. And yet, she has it in her to heal the sick, comfort the grieving, and help the poor. The whole sinner or saint thing makes such a compelling character, one you would love to love, or love to hate.

Starring Edie Falco as Nurse Jackie and Peter Facinelli as Dr. Fitch Cooper (I call him Grabby Coop - you have to watch to know why), on Showtime.

And no, I do not like the show just because Papa Cullen is on it. Although, I will admit that it was because of him that I first started watching it.

Oh by the way, who isn't looking forward to seeing how they've recreated V?

Premieres on November 3, 2009, Tuesday at 8:00 pm EST.

Happy watching!

It's Raining Boots! Alleluia!

The seasons have changed here in the East Coast, and the warm, green summer that was, has been replaced with dropping temperatures and leaves of yellow and gold. Well, this weekend, its yellow and gold against a backdrop of grey. It's been raining for the past four days in our part of the country.

On rainy days like these, I am thankful that I live in the 'burbs of South Jersey, where everybody needs a car to get from one place to another and not have to walk a great distance in the rain. I just hate getting my feet wet.

But then again, when I see all the cool rain boots my NYC and Philly counterparts get to wear as they commute around the streets, I can't help but wish I worked there to actually justify buying myself a pair. The brand of the season appears to be Hunter.

I just love how they pull them over their pant legs and stylishly go sloshing around the city. Match that with their cute trench coats or vests, large leather bags, and oh so cute pocket umbrellas. Love it! Oh! did I mention the hat and gloves too? How about that scarf?

So, let me pretend to be a big city paralegal for a moment, and choose the pair of boots I would like to get my hands on:

From Of Knitted Tales and Sunday Dinners

Hunter by Jimmy Choo
$325.00 on SaksFifthAvenue.com.
Do you see the leopard print lining peeking out from the top? Love it! But at that price point? It would make me go weak in the knees to actually use them for their intended purpose.

From Of Knitted Tales and Sunday Dinners

Hunter Boots from J.Crew
$115.00 on Jcrew.com.
These are the classic ones that everybody is wearing. I love the classic design. Sigh... Alas, the price tag still does not do it for me.

From Of Knitted Tales and Sunday Dinners

Chinese Laundry
$58.95 on Zappos.com.
Look closely, the design details are almost identical to the original. Hmmmm. But at just under $60.00, I would still like to have that little white and red label on top of it.


Well, then the old cheapo in me arises once again. There's always The Target option . The Knittymommy slumps her shoulders in acceptance. At $24.99 how can you go wrong? Right? How come I'm not feeling any better about it?

Oh well, I guess it's back to the drawing board for me. Well, maybe the writing desk, in my case. The only way I'll be able to afford the ones I really do want is when I actually sell that breakout novel. You know the one I haven't written yet?

Imaginary window shopping was fun though! Thanks for coming along with me.

Ondoy

Just last Saturday, certain parts of the Philippines, particularly the northern part of Metro Manila, was hit by a devastating tropical storm. The city was inundated by a month's worth of rain in the span of six hours.

I was surprised when I opened up my facebook account and saw message after message of requests for rescues from certain locations. The pictures and news footage showed all the devastation around the city that I love.

You see, in the Philippines, there are barely any rescue and emergency resources available to its citizens. I listened in horror when the head of the National Disaster Coordinating Council related that there were only twenty five (25) rescue boats available for a certain area and that the stranded would just have to be patient.

Please take a look at this video compilation of photographs by Glenn Omanio on the aftermath of this horrible storm.



How can we help from here:

Relief Goods
Ondoy NY Disaster Relief Drop Off Center
Pandayan Center
406 W 40th Street
Between 9th and 10th Avenues
New York, NY 10018
Tel No.: (212) 564-6057

ABS-CBN Foundation (Checks accepted, please indicate in your letter that the donation is for Sagip Kapamilya)
Sagip Kapamilya
150 Shoreline Drive
Redwood City, CA 94065

Ayala Foundation USA- choose the institution "Philippine National Red Cross"

I will find other means for donations and from here in the US and our local area and post it here. As for me and my family, we'll be organizing an old clothes drive within our community of friends and family. If any of you would like to join us, please e-mail me or send me a private note so I can coordinate directly with you.

Let us all do our part to help all our kababayans (countrymen) in this time of need.

Random Things

I haven't been blogging much lately on anything of real consequence. Just putting up clips of the movies I've been looking forward to for a while. I am not really sure where I'am going with that yet, but I still enjoy showing you guys a few things I find, here and there.

Here are a few random things that have been going on in the life of The Knittymommy lately. (Now, let's just pretend that you're all interested, shall we?)

1. My DH's brother and his wife were here in late August and we had a great time shopping and running around. We went down to Washington, DC where I realized one of the things I had dreamt of ever since I was a little girl. I saw the White House and the Washington Monument. Plus, I saw the Pentagon, too. I just don't know why, but that city stirred something in me. I can't imagine the stories that those streets of power hold.

2. My parents are both here now. I haven't seen my father in over four years, so it was a real treat. It's funny how when you eventually become an adult (in age, rather than in mind) you can actually speak to your parents with out fear of being spanked.

3. My blogger friend, the Manila Fashion Observer, posted the litte gift I made her first born, Baby Berry, on her blog. That was nice to have someone show off something I've made on their site. I've been so busy lately, that I haven't had time to post my entry about the finished piece myself.

4. I know I have repeatedly claimed to be a writer, but never really have shown anything of it other than what this blog contains. Well, I am now putting it out there, I write short short stories or flash fiction (approximately 1,500 words or less) about women.

Previously, I wrote privately (more like, in the closet) and have kept things to myself, mainly, because I was embarrassed or worried that people may call me a hack, or something like that. But this time around, I have come to realize that in order to improve as a writer, I do have to have people read it, and receive critiques and feedback. As such, I joined an online writing community called Scribophile. I have since posted four pieces there for the members to read and provide critique. Some critiques I have received have been favorable, some respectfully critical, and others downright scathing; but all, helpful. I have also joined a local writer's roundtable group that meets once a month at our town library. That has been very interesting too.

If any of you are interested to read something I've written, send me an e-mail and let's talk.

5. The family is off to Toronto this afternoon to drop off my parents at my sister's. It will be a quick and tiring trip, but should still be fun.

6. Last, but not the least, my brother-in-law brought with them Porky's Best microwaveable chicharon with them as "pasalubongs" and I have loved them to death. For the non-Filipino readers, chicharon is a snack of fried pork rinds. Not healthy at all, but oh so yummy! I have pictures of them in their "unpopped" form and their "popped" form. Love them! To any of my friends back home, this will always be a most welcome present from the Philippines in my house! - Hint, hint!