Heh. You should see my desk...piled high with b&w brochure mock-ups (Boss is crazy, and the new color printer won't play with us yet!) If it gets any higher, I may have to post avalanche warnings! Gotta love cranky Franky!

At least the clutter is mostly water and papers. I have candy stowed in the cubby next to my desk. It is all over in there.

Oh, and congrats and good luck on the Six-Week Plan...I couldn't go six weeks without CHEESE...

can it be? my first post on C.A.P. and I'm the first in line? and all I have to say is, "hey, I've got a Hello Kitty calendar, too"? Obviously, I need to learn how to capitalize on these moments of glory!

Your not really working unless your desk is messy. Right?

Who would say anything mean to you? Has to be their problem.

Holy Shit. 6 weeks with no wine? That would be six weeks with lots of whine!

Ha - I am funny! No?

People are strange.
Why is it so much easier to believe the one bad thing someone says to you and discount the 27 nice things?

There you go, reading my mind again. I was feeling all blue because somebody said I was negative. Some people misinterpret fear for anger. I'm not mad, I'm sad.

Thanks for the joke nana...it made me laugh..
Love the scarf and the cat.

Sadly I too believe that it is human nature (at least with women.... ok, you and me) that we take the bad stuff to heart and let the good things people say just roll on by. Why is that? And how do we reverse this? That is my project for this year. Don't hold your breath but I'll let you know if I come up with a solution.

I've also noticed that I practically become unhinged if I know someone doesn't like me. And it's even worse for me if I'm not a huge fan of that person either. WHY? If I don't like the person for WHATEVER reason then WHY do I care what they think about ANYTHING much less me?

That being said... If anything said ANYTHING mean about my Crazy Aunt Purl you let me know and I'll gladly kick them in the kneecaps for you! :)

Ok I'm done now ;)

LOL @ crystal

I just got a mean email from someone. Luckily, I have a fancy newfangled thing called the "delete" button. bleh.

all work and no wine makes laurie something something

Do you suppose that Eyelash yarn is just one more reason for the French to distain us? Love the scarf! And I agree, who would be mean to you?

Check out you and your bilingual self!

And when you go to Paris. There must be LOTS OF WINE. okay? To make for that six week detox thing. ouch. I had a friend who managed a Starbucks and then went on a fast and stopped drinking *gasp* caffeine. Don't go changing on us too much. I rely on you for stories of hush puppies and fried chicken and macaroni and cheese.

And also, mean people. They suck. I hate that all anger, sadness, emotion generally is met with tears. It makes me really ineffective in the first 2 minutes of any fight.

Sadly I too believe that it is human nature (at least with women.... ok, you and me) that we take the bad stuff to heart and let the good things people say just roll on by. Why is that? And how do we reverse this? That is my project for this year. Don't hold your breath but I'll let you know if I come up with a solution.

I've also noticed that I practically become unhinged if I know someone doesn't like me. And it's even worse for me if I'm not a huge fan of that person either. WHY? If I don't like the person for WHATEVER reason then WHY do I care what they think about ANYTHING much less me?

That being said... If anything said ANYTHING mean about my Crazy Aunt Purl you let me know and I'll gladly kick them in the kneecaps for you! :)

Ok I'm done now ;)

I have decided that if anything bad ever happens to your kitties (knock on wood and all that) YOU CANNOT POST IT! Being a cat person who can't have cats (darn hubby and his allergies) I have come to look on Roy and the gang as my way to get my daily cat fix. So, keep posting me some cat and knit content and I will be all good. :-)

PS You are a fabulous writer and really should consider writing for money!

You're not the only one getting woken up at 4:30! My Rocco will burrow in the covers until he finds my hand & then put his head under it & move around under my hand so I will wake up & rub him. Such a goober.

Oh, I might love Dr. Weil too. So much great info, if I could only remember to abide by it.

Best of luck with your 6 weeks!!

If anyones mean, just tell them to "fermez la bouche" and look! more french!

Love the pink fuzzy scarf!

And thanks for the Frankie picture!

:)

Oh MY! I went through a huge knit everything in LanaGrosa Pep. Everyone around me had fuzzy, fuzzy scarves with this SUPER soft and warm stuff. I never got pink, though. Gee, all you flat landers musts use it up before we get any up here. It looks great, Laurie. You look wonderful in pink.

So - did your Mom coming to Cali mean that you are not coming here?

Did you know that Chase is out there in LA at this very moment?

Oh yeah, I'm the champion of believing only the bad things I hear. Been working on that character trait for sometime now.

Is it really only 6 weeks til you go to Paris? Well, that will go by quickly! Hope you're planning on posting from there for all of your many fans!

MmmMmmm French wine and French cheese and French bread. And the art. And the shopping. And the...

I wanna go to Paris.
Shoot. Now

Laurie est merveilleux et va avoir l'amusement en France!

It's like Julia Roberts says in "Pretty Woman" (cuz that's so much like real life) but anyway she says "the bad stuff is just easier to believe". I think this is true, we are all so critical of ourselves (ok you and me) that we can't believe it when someone actually says something nice.

You go on with your bad French self girlfriend!!

I love the scarf - it matches your cheeks!!!

I wish it were easy to just flip a switch, not care what anyone thinks.

Hey Crystal -- Why didn't chase want to hook up with me while he's out here?? Maybe my crazy has scared the poor guy. And I'm still coming to FL, just not until summer. You can always come here you know. hint hint.

On the mean people thing? I used to be the kind of person that got all worked up over people doing or saying mean things. I would plot all sorts of vile plans to get even with them; just get totally consumed by it. I was not a happy person. Then one day something just clicked and I realized that if I wanted to be happy the only person that could do anything about it was me. I decided that day to be happy and to just ignore the mean people. And guess what? It worked. Now things do just slide off my back. Life really is short and it's just not worth getting all worked up over the mean people. They are the ones with the problem, not me (or you). Just go on your merry way and let them wallow in their meaness. The way I look at it is they are really unhappy and want everyone around them to be as miserable as they are. Defeat their efforts by ignoring them.

Loved the joke.

What rat bastard would be mean to Laurie??

I can't wait to hear all about your Parisian adventures. Je suis tres jalouse.

If that a pic of u with the pink scarf (ok I know it says its a picture of you but still ...) you look positively resplendant and as beautiful as it gets
have a nice day
regards
g

Your French is really coming along! Well done cherie' (does that mean friend or what? I think I'm becoming bi-lingual too). My newest health craze (besides elderberry every day) FLAX seed. I've been reading about how good it is for you -- add it to yogurt or in your morning cereal. It'll cure what ails ya.

i liked the joke.

will you be going this evening? i am going to attempt knitting. we'll see how that goes.

the mean things are easier to believe because we don't know that they're not true. if it's something we ourselves have doubted and then someone else mentions it, clearly it is to be believed!'

where as i don't know many people who go around thinking how wonderful they look all the time, so a compliment sometimes feels less right.

or we are all crazy.

I am DYING at the blonde joke! My coworker probably does not find it amusing - that is until she reads it herself - cause i got her hoooked reading your blog! (partners in crime makes me feel less guilty)

BTW - i want the hellokitty calendar!

kendra ... I can't go tonight. I have to work. :(

The cuteness...the fluffiness...the pinkness!

Bonne chance with the Six-Week Plan!

Back in the 70s someone gave me an EST book. You may be too young for EST, but the idea was that they locked you in a room for 8 hours and yelled insults at you and wouldn't let you go to the bathroom and somehow you emerged from this enlightened. The book yelled insults at you too YOU ARE AN UNCONSCIOUS A------ like that, only with letters instead of family-friendly dashes, but it couldn't prevent you from going to the bathroom or bursting into tears and flinging it across the room, which I did.

All of which is to say: I cannot venture an opinion as to whether you are normal, but you are not alone. Good luck with the six-week plan.

I remain unenlightened to this day.

My cat is at this very moment trying to get some love while I am typing by rubbing her head under my arm as it moves - not condusive to good spelling! You tell Frankie that Ash sympathizes!

Good luck with the 6 week plan, my personal plan involves doing housework more often (NO knitting until the dishes are washed!) and eating less, but that's as specific as I get!

Au revoir!

I believe that it is actual Le Chat est mushuga.

LOL! My stand that is beside the couch where I knit always has 2-3 drinks at a time. I swear I am not right with the world if I dont have at least 2 drinks at a time.

Loved Nana's joke, what a crack.

Good luck with the detox, I'm trying it myself. Watch out for the much and bugs in the organic stuff tho ;)

The trip "me" took!!!!!! and you claim to be an English major!!!

I'm participating in the knitting olympic in February...and just want to tell you that I got inspired by your Noro Kureyon Basket Weave...and will be doing something similar! ;)

Why oh why is it always a blonde? Loved it anyway. I thought you would be going into training for your trip by drinking more wine and developing a tolerance. If you swear off won't you get drunk really, really easy? What do I know? I'm envious that you are going with a bunch of women which will make it so much fun. Good luck on the training and good habits. You have so inspired me I am going downstairs and do Yoga!

Good on you for the 6 week plan. I have no doubt you will feel at least a million dollars more than you already do.
Speaking of which, can you lend me a fiver?

Just yesterday someone explained to me that criticism is like a brick and praise is like a feather. It takes a hell of a lot more feathers to cover up a brick, but one brick can squash a whole load of feathers.

What a pretty scarf. Of course I like just about all things pink.

The scarf is tres chic, and screw the French if they don't think so, but I think they will love you. Do you usually come home to persnickety cats when you travel? You really should do a calendar with your cat pics and captions, they are a hoot.

I too am: Knitting in pink, trying to be healthy, and thinking that the scarf joke was funny.

You rock. I've read every single one of your posts, and frankly, I think that you're sort of the 'every knitter'.

You say what we all think.

Keep writing.

Your blogging may be your therapy, but reading your blog is my therapy! Thanks Aunt Purl.
Love the pink scarf! I know you will rock on your 6 week plan, but seriously, NO wine? Not even a taste???? Let us know how it goes.
And just because you inspire me so, I am gonna try to excersize more too. And if you want, check out the rolled brim hat & loopy scarf on my link.

Hey, Laurie! You need some Catholic Girl anti-guilt exercises! (Trixie!! You ARE SO RIGHT!!!!!!!! I am working on it. Perhaps I should quiz you on these exercises, no sit-ups involved I hope heh heh ;) thank you!!--laurie)

Wait, no alcohol WHAT?

How can we have movie night without alcohol?

Really. Not comprehending. But then, if you go for NINE weeks without alcohol, we will be getting you SO DRUNK in France.

At first I thought you might have run over a Fraggle on your way to work. Very cute.
I agree with Trixie. (thank you Ande :) --laurie)

(Leslie you made me laugh! thanks!! -- laurie)

(Hi Denise! I will look for your email! thank you! --laurie)

(thanks dustbunny, I read it! thank you! I agree, life is too short to be sad!--laurie)

Your cats are adorable!! Every time I think one is my favorite, you show a pic of another one.....they're all great.

Love the cute scarf and it looks great on you!! I hope you have a wonderful time in France!

damn... before I could send you a french postcard with locales for swill and a fromagerie or two...

So, having thought a while about this, mainly most of the night, I rememberered this morning that this is 2006! Not 2005, Year Of Bad Weird Things!

If last year was my personal Civil War (a.k.a. "The War Of Northern Ex's Aggression") then this year is clearly Reconstruction (a.k.a. "The Year Good Things Take Place") and during Reconstruction, I vow not to let people who I do not know, have never talked to, never corresponded with or even known about until this very day make me feel go home, cry and eat chocolate. Amen.

During Reconstruction, we all get thinner thighs, happy smiles and possibly good sex (God, if you're there, it's me Margaret-Laurie, please. Really. It has been a while.)

So! I have cleaned up the comments, because it dawned on me - duh! - that I PAY for this server and this here website and if I want happy goofy stuff here I can actually change the weather. Fantastico! Negativity, be gone. I shall pull a Scarlett and never think of this again. This year is all about being happy and Reconstructing. And the thigh thing. Amen.