holy shit

I passed my last licensure exam this morning. Which means that once my check goes through, I will be an L C S W (spaces to prevent googling).

I started this process in 2003 when I began grad school, and I am really proud. The process is a pain in the ass and the tests are hard. But I am done. I think I am still in shock–when I saw the PASS on the screen I just covered my mouth and got teary. And then I got numb. Tomorrow at work might feel different, when I get to tell the people that I work with. Or maybe when I actually get my license number, and business cards, and start doing a miniature private practice.

I am knitting (running a tiny bit but not much) and packing for my cruise but I have no pictures. I promise to have a ton of pictures in about 2 weeks, when I return from Alaska.

yay!

 

Done! (and Del Mar)

Central Park Hoodie

Cast on Feb 9 and Finished April 8

Knit in Cotton-ease.

And awesome! I love this sweater–I wore it to work today and was happy all day long (well, as happy as one is at work).

I am now working on socks (Sundara sock yarn in Bronzed Forest):

I spent last weekend down in Del Mar with some good knitting friends.

Anna and I drove down to the hotel and met Margaret Saturday morning. From there we hit the yarn stores (5 in total), where I purchased very little (some yarn needed for classes on the cruise.

Sunday morning we went to the beach. We had a great time there (and during the whole weekend. It’s nice when strangers tell you that you must be having fun. We were.)

 

7 years

Today is our 7th wedding anniversary.

Before we went to dinner Saturday night.

We spent the weekend at my grandmother’s apartment in West LA (she was out of town, so it was like a big, fancy hotel room.)

We had a really nice time, a lot of eating, some shopping, and running down at the beach. We both agree that we could live in her neighborhood, and be very happy. We loved running at the beach in Santa Monica, walking to the Farmer’s Market, and otherwise just hanging around.

Of course, there was a stop at a yarn store (because T loves me, and I spend hours and hours searching for a pair of shoes for him). We went to Wildfiber in Santa Monica, which was just as nice as the last time, except they no longer seem to be carrying Socks that Rock/Blue Moon Fiber Arts, which was a bummer.

I did get some yarn though:

Kollage Cornucopia, made from corn fibers somehow. My parents bought me two of those skeins, I bought a third.

Sublime Yarns Organic Cotton dk for Brighton. I did find some bag handles I liked, but the price was a bit much. I will probably make the bag (someday…) and then get handles.

I am knitting the hood of the Central Park Hoodie (the entire body and sleeves are done, and after the hood I have to do the button band and will be done.) Speaking of buttons, I bought some of those at Wildfiber too.

The ones of the left will be for the Malabrigo sweater I finished a while ago (and wear without buttons.) The ones on the right will be for the Central Park Hoodie.

 

passed!

It is done, and over, and I passed. They don’t tell you your score, just a pass or fail. Sigh. I am so relieved. I slept about 3 hours total last night, and almost didn’t go to the test. So happy that I did, and that I am done. And passed!

Thank you for your emails, texts, and comments of support. They are very appreciated.

Next up with 1 last exam. Once that one is passed, I am officially licensed.

 

47 hrs 59 minutes

Until my exam begins. I get my results immediately after completing the test.

I am one part confident, one part convinced of failure, and tons of parts anxious.

No knitting has been happening, and surprising little studying. I have been studying for a year, and I just can’t seem to do any more. I will probably review this afternoon, hopefully in the sunshine in my backyard. Tomorrow is a massage. And then the exam.

 

closer

So, my licensure hours have been approved, and a test date is set. And it is pretty soon. So the hardcore studying begins, and the hardcore knitting and running (though that hasn’t been too hardcore lately) get put on hold.

I did get some knitting done the past few weeks though.

The back of a Central Park Hoodie, in Cotton-ease (50 cotton/50 acrylic, so actually wearable in Southern California.) I also have one of the fronts completed (it is a cardigan), and have started the second front. But, I plan on not knitting, until the test is over. (Of course, this is test 1 of 2. So passing this one is just another part of the process, not the end. But a big part nonetheless.) So this sweater will need to sit for a bit. Well, I do have knit night, and I will get a bit of knitting done there, but not much (we talk as much as we knit.)

Also, I don’t think I showed these:

Charade socks in Fleece Artist Sea Wool (thanks Lisa!).

The toes are a bit weird–a different decrease than I normally do, plus one glaring error. But they are soft, and nice.

And I don’t do this much (ever?), but if you could send out positive thoughts that I will pass this test, it would be very appreciated. The stress is a bit much — and is just building.

 

steps

Today I am mailing off my application to test for my LCSW. This is an application 2.5 years in the making, and I am really, really proud. (All I actually had to do to get to this point was work, organize my supervision, and take some classes. The testing is still to come. But I am still proud that I stuck with it, making sure I got what I needed.)

I am knitting, on some socks (which are much farther along than you see here but it is grey and rainy) and still running (so far i have run 25 miles this month, and plan to run today, which is pretty far for me. Of course some people do this in a week, but I am still happy with it.)

Lots of parentheses here, sorry about that. Life keeps going in steps, one at a time. And I am happy to have finished this one.

And a scarf I finished, for good measure. It is 100 percent alpaca and incredibly soft and squishy. I am not smiling because I look silly when I do so in pictures. I should work on that.

 

finished

I have some finished knits (the malabrigo sweater and the monkey socks). No modeling pictures of the sweater (I just got back from running and am not photogenic. At all.)

Monkey Socks in Socks that Rock Lightweight Valkyrie

Top down raglan (pattern from cosmicpluto.com). 5 skeins of Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Pearl 10. Still needs buttons. Fits well, and is amazingly soft. I really don’t wear variegated sweaters, so even if the yarn had all been the same shade, I don’t know how much I would have worn this out. But I think it will get a lot of love at home. (and yes, the cuffs have horrible laddering. It’s only going to be worn around the house anyways.)

T and I have been fighting off colds, so we have no plans for tonight (besides leftovers and CSI marathon. We are getting old.)

I think that this was a good year, and I am hopeful that next year will bring positive changes, as well as continuity with the current good things in my life that I hope to hold on to.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful new year (and a safe new year’s eve!)

 

and so it begins

My new job, that is.

I started on Friday (it was supposed to be on a Thursday but my clearances didn’t come through until Thursday. I was offered starting on Friday, or waiting til January 3rd. I admit that I was tempted to take the month of December off, but that isn’t very realistic). I haven’t started any actual work; orientation goes through Tuesday, and then work will actually start on Wednesday. I am going to call my supervisor sometime tomorrow and find out what unit I will be working on and other basic information about my job.

I received some very pretty yarn in the mail this weekend, and I am unsure what it will be.

It is 1000 yds of silk lace. I am seriously considering Juno Regina and the Victoria Shawl (without the border– just the center pattern with a garter stitch edging). Any thoughts (or other suggestions)?

(otherwise on the knitting front I am halfway done with the first sleeve on the cardigan, and finished with the first monkey sock.)

 

adventures in yarn shopping

 I spent this past Saturday hitting up 4 semi-local yarn stores with two good knitting friends.

Wildfiber

Our yarn adventures began at Wildfiber in Santa Monica. Gorgeous store, a *ton* of really nice yarns (including Socks that Rock in stock….) and a helpful staff. Prices were a bit high, but I am guessing that rent in Santa Monica is also a bit high. I really, really enjoyed their selection, but was overwhelmed and didn’t purchase anything.

Next up was Knit Cafe (no pictures–I was told that the owner did not like pictures being taken of her store). This one was a mixed bag–good selection of yarns, generally nice staff, and overall good vibe to the store. The feel of this one was my favorite. But there was something just a touch snobbish about one of the workers that made it less than perfect. I did purchase some magazines here (Fall and Winter Interweave Knits from 2004 to 2007 for 12$. Not bad).

After this was Skein in Pasadena (I realize that I am not linking to any of these. Sorry.) Not my favorite–possibly my least favorite). They had a great selection of Rowan and RYC yarns, and then a great selection of fun fur and other novelty yarns, and that was about it. Overall a friendly place, but nothing that made me want to go back.

Last was Unraveled in Monrovia. This store is in a nice space, with a good selection of malabrigo and other general wools, plus some sock and lace yarns. I would probably return here, but didn’t find anything I needed right now.

We also stopped at Dots, a cupcake shop in Pasadena. Their strawberry shortcake cupcake was great–the others were just ok. But it was a cute shop and a nice stop in the otherwise all yarn all the time day.

Dots

And a mini-pic from Friday night, which included wine and Mall Madness (a shopping game from 1988). A good night. (I am on the right).