Sleeves Suck and Quirkiness

I'm working my way slowly down the sleeve of my saved sweater. It's incredibly boring. Every so often I have to pick up the sweater and remind myself that I'm in the home stretch. Almost done. I've got two inches 'til I hit the ribbing. I'm hoping that I will have a completed sweater this weekend. But sleeves suck. I never seem to enjoy knitting them.

Yesterday I received a package from Jimmy Beans. No, not yarn. I'm being a good girl and knitting from my stash. But I did order some patterns. This because I have some DK in my stash that I want to knit. I love the "Knitting Pure & Simple" patterns. They are well written, simple top-down patterns that result in nice wearable garments. This because my two nieces are very into dance and gymnastics and leg warmers seem a perfect gift. This because I've loved the look of it since I first laid eyes on it. It was in an ad in one of the many magazines and I really love the wide ribbing and the fit on the arms and neck. I don't know about you, but I'm 42 years old, bras aren't optional so I like this tank. I will need to buy 3 or 4 hanks of yarn for this tank, but I still have money left on my Christmas Yarn Cafe gift card so I don't think it counts as a purchase.

I was officially tagged by Mrs. MJW to respond to 10 Quirky Things About Me. Only 10? I've got a lot more quirks than that. I'm not usually a big meme kind of gal, but this is the very first time anyone has tagged me by name. So I must respond.

10 Quirky Things About Me

1. I'm a bit phobic about germs. I need to have hand wipes in my purse at all times. I'm actually a little peeved at Bath & Bodyworks for discontinuing their antibacterial wipes. I know they are smaller and 10x more expensive than the ones I can get at Target, but I liked them. I Clorox wipe my office on a regular basis. I can't use the communal microwave at the office without wiping down the keypad with antibacterial wipes.
2. I can't bring myself to wear socks that aren't black, brown or white. White is only for tennis shoes of course. This stands in the way of my total participation in the knitting blogesphere as so many knit bloggers are also sock addicts.
3. I have a terrible speech habit of using the phrase, "quite honestly". As if I'm lying most of the time so I have to preface this sentence with, "quite honestly". It drives me nuts and I can't seem to break the habit.
4. If I decide I'm interested in something I go completely overboard. I have to have all the equipment and the right clothes for it. I am no good at the whole moderation thing. Lately I've been working out and yesterday I caught myself looking at overpriced "workout" clothes. As if the t-shirts and sweats I've been wearing have somehow adversely impacted my workouts. It's been like this with knitting for about 5 years now. Thank God there aren't expensive special shoes for knitting. I'd have 4 pair.
5. I can fall asleep anywhere. Sitting on a plane, laying on the sofa, outside on the patio. I love a good little nap. Not more than 30 minutes though or I'm cranky and sleepy all day long.
6. I hate spending time on my hair. I'd love to have long beautiful hair but I resent the 5 lousy minutes I have to spend with a blow dryer on my short hair. I always hate my hair but I'm pretty much completely unwilling to do anything about it.
7. I'm a worrier. I worry about my friends and family. I'm always saying things like "wash your hands, you don't know what you might have picked up at the mall" and "did you remember your jacket?". This is mildly tolerated by my son. Less so by my friends and parents.
8. I have an irrational fear of flying animals. Any kind of flying animal. When I was a group rep we used to go to trade shows and the Mutual of Omaha people would be there with wild animals. I could pet a bear, a lion or a snake, but the tethered eagle scared me to death. I couldn't get near it. Even canaries scare the snot out of me. Don't even mention bats.
9. I'm a neatnik. I can't stand stuff sitting around looking at me. We are picker uppers around here. Being someplace cluttered or messy makes me nervous. I want to pick up. Lately, I have stuck to my vow of not taking apart my sister's stove top and cleaning it more than a couple times of year. I think she appreciates me not taking things apart every time I visit. (PLEASE NOTE I AM NOT SAYING MY SISTER IS NOT NEAT HERE. SHES AN AMAZING HOUSEKEEPER. I LOVE AND ADMIRE HER. SHE IS SMARTER AND MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN I. SHE CAN ALSO KICK MY ASS.)
10. I have a deep and abiding distrust of the perky. People who are always sunshiny and happy are strange. I think they are either completely insincere or a little dim-witted.

I'm tagging Renee, Chris, Julie, Guinifer and Annie.