Skip to main content

8 More Random Things

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.04.2008

(Hannah won The Restorer by Sharon Hinck! Congratulations!)

Myra tagged me. I could point to my old 8 Random Things, but thought I’d come up with something new.

1. Don’t laugh, but I’ve just started the Ultimate Tea Diet (I got it on ebook from Fictionwise.com for less than $10 club price). I’m pretty stoked because I love tea and this diet encourages you to drink as much as you like. You’re also supposed to resteep the loose tea leaves so there’s no caffeine in successive cups of tea, which is great. So far, it’s been neat because I haven’t been as hungry at night.

2. I finished knitting all my (late) Christmas gifts, and now I’m working on a couple graduation presents (for two teen girls in my youth group) that are about half a year overdue.

3. I like looking at complicated lace knitting patterns, but so far I’ve only done two lace shawls, both in the same pattern. One was for my agent, the other was for my husband’s Christmas gift exchange at work. It brought him a few kudos/brownie points with his female coworkers.

4. I’m listening to the audiobook of Cesar Millan’s Cesar’s Way in hopes of learning how to discipline my dog better. I think it’s helping, because she’s been better behaved since I’ve started projecting “calm assertive” energy on our walks.

5. I’ve started walking the dog more! Captain Caffeine has always been very responsible and taken her for a walk in the morning, but I would often let her run in the backyard for her afternoon potty break. But after listening to Cesar’s audiobook, I’ve been taking her for a long walk in the afternoon in addition to letting her run in the backyard. This has been good for both her and me!

6. For Christmas, Captain Caffeine and I made a batch of cards for our sister-in-law. She loves pigs, so I bought a bunch of pig stamps and we made 5 different designs, ranging from thank you cards to Happy Birthday to blank cards. Captain Caffeine did almost all the coloring, and I assembled the cards together. I was very proud of ourselves.

7. I just stopped reading an old Regency romance novel that had truly cardboard characters, illogical character actions, and instant (a bit unrealistic) sexual attraction between the hero and heroine. It’s a 2000 reprint of a 1993 book, so I expected better writing (I mean, why would anyone reprint a bad book?) and was terribly disappointed.

8. I’ve been wearing the few pairs of wool socks I knit for myself because it’s been very cold here in California, and I don’t want to put the thermostat too high because gas is expensive. The wool socks are great! My feet tend to be colder than the rest of my body, and the wool keeps my feet warmer than with two layers of cotton socks.

Your turn: list a random fact about you!

Comments

Ausjenny said…
I guess saying my brain is fried from the heat doesn't count so lets see.
Im going to Adelaide to see my cricket team play in a 20/20 game but im more excited that it will be 40 or about 105ish on Thursday and i will still be in Adelaide and i will have Air Conditioning!
we dont have it in our house so days like today and worse still nights like tonight are hard to take. (I am looking forward to the cricket and hopefully this time they will win)
Cheryl said…
Our family is heading back to Alaska for our daughter's high school graduation trip. (hiking, not cruising) When we were there two years ago for our son's trip, we crossed paths w/ a mama bear and her cubs while hiking in Wragell-St. Elias National Park. Very cool.
Anonymous said…
I love the cold weather!

You need to knit some neon green socks! I think they would be so cute, hee.

You made some really cool looking socks, btw.
Helga Marie Bee said…
something random about me? I have an obsession with making lists.. I am nto sure if I ever really use them, but I end up making a list for almost everything, whether it be grocerie, books I want to read, reasons to get organized, or just pretty names for my "future" children :)

Happy New Year!
Anonymous said…
I've heard Cesar's way works well with husbands too. ; )

Love the socks! No, really, I love those socks!!!
Myra Johnson said…
Yea, another Cesar fan! I LOVE The Dog Whisperer! I have also tried the calm-assertive thing on grandkids, but they are too smart for it. Thanks for playing the 8 Random Things game again, Camster. It's always fun to learn more about you!
Anonymous said…
Random fact - I have no sense of smell. Never have. So I have no clue what anything smells like. I didn't know chocolate had a scent until I was trying to sneak some and out of nowhere my 2 year old comes running into the room. "How did she know?" I asked my husband. "She could smell it", he replied. That's when I found out chocolate had a scent.

Popular Posts

Michael’s Scarf knitting pattern

Michael’s Gray and Brown Scarf I had just written a scene in Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 5: Prisoner where my character Michael gives the heroine a very significant scarf. When looking for a stitch pattern, I found the one used in “#31 Comfort either for a Lady or Gentleman” in The Lady's Assistant , volume 2 , published in 1842 by Mrs. Jane Gaugain, pages 125-126 (click on the link to view and/or download the free PDF of the digitally scanned book). When I did test swatches, it turned out to be a pretty eyelet pattern that looks like branches or vines winding upward. I tried the pattern as a parallelogram scarf and discovered that the pattern has a changeable orientation, looking vertical or diagonal depending on how you looked at it. So I decided to use this pattern, knitted as a parallelogram, as Michael’s scarf. I decided to use a smaller needle and add a slip stitch in the pattern to make the eyelets a bit more close and less lacy. When paired with a brown an

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci

Lady Wynwood’s Spies book 1 in Amazon Prime Free Reads

Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer in Amazon Prime Free Reads My book was chosen to be included in Amazon Prime Free Reads. If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll be able to borrow my book for free. Now’s the chance to read Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer if you haven’t yet! Read Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer free on Amazon

The Gentleman Thief in Free Historical Fiction Bookfunnel promo

My book The Gentlemen Thief (writing as Camille Elliot) is in this Free Historical Fiction promo. Every book in the promo is FREE when you sign up for the author’s email newsletter. Check out the promo and all the great FREE historical fiction ebooks! You might find a new favorite author! Free Historical Fiction promo

The Wedding Kimono in the Clean Romance Books promo

My book The Wedding Kimono (writing as Camy Tang) is in this Clean Romance books Bookfunnel promo. Every book in the promo is FREE when you sign up for the author’s email newsletter. Check out the promo and all the great FREE clean romance ebooks! You might find a new favorite author! Clean Romance Books Bookfunnel promo

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures

Hosea 14:2

Lord Jesus, Thank You that we can freely come directly to You and pray to You. Thank You that You died for our sins on the cross and we can be forgiven. “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.” We praise and thank You, Lord, for how wonderful You are. We lift our hearts to You in praise today. Amen 主イエスよ、私たちが自由にあなたに直接近づき、あなたに祈ることができることを感謝します。あなたが十字架で私たちの罪のために死んでくださり、私たちが赦されることを感謝します。「私たちのすべての罪を赦し、私たちを慈しみ深く受け入れてください。」主よ、あなたがどんなに素晴らしい方であるかを賛美し、感謝します。私たちは今日、賛美のうちにあなたに心を捧げます。 アーメン

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th

Marketing Information Form, part two

Captain’s Log, Stardate 05.26.2006 Blog book giveaway: My Monday book giveaway is A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND by Kristin Billerbeck . My Thursday book giveaway is LIFE INTERRUPTED by Tricia Goyer . You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Monday, I'll draw the winner for A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned. Continued from Marketing Information Form, part one : More stuff they want to know about my book: Other covers: What styles, fonts, colors? This is one area I didn’t really think about, but I listed the few covers that I thought conveyed the sort of atmosphere I wanted for my book: WHAT A GIRL WANTS by Kristin Billerbeck . The cartoon design is fresh, cute, clean. SASSY CINDERELLA AND THE VALIANT VIGILANTE by Sharon Dunn . This book, more than the other Ruby Taylor books, conveyed Ruby’s character—her vibrant red hair, bohemian dress, sassy post-modern attitude. THE TROUBLE WITH LACY B

September and October Christian Fiction new releases

The Lone Rice Ball releases next month in a Christian Contemporary Romance multi-author box set, Once Upon a Starry Night: A Very Merry Christmas Romance Collection . It's included in this promo with other Christian Fiction new releases for September and October. You can preorder it for only $2.99, and the price will go up on the release date in October. If you prefer to read it on Kindle Unlimited, sign up for my newsletter so you can hear when it’s available to read in KU. Check out the Sept/Oct Christian Fiction new releases