We knew it had to end sometime.

So it finally happened. I finally caved and turned my heat on.

I haven't been going heatless for any practical reason, though electric bill savings and being green are both nice little byproducts. My refusal to turn on my heat was nothing but a pointless and completely arbitrary act of defiance towards Mother Nature.

When the winds first started blowing and the days started getting chillier and the nights started getting longer, I laughed. C'mon, Weather! Don't you know who you're dealing with?, I thought. You clearly have not seen my sweater shelves or my accessory wall. I am a knitter. I keep myself warm FOR FUN.

Then it got a little colder, but I still wasn't fazed. I simply threw a blanket over my toes and made myself some tea-- and a french press cozy to keep it extra warm. Silly Nature, I haven't even put on my fingerless gloves yet. You let me know when you decide to start playing for real.

It went roughly like that for the last month or so. The weather got wetter, then drier, colder, then warmer. I put on sweaters and took them off. Every once in a while, the Boyfriend and I would look at each other with that "should we?" look, then smile and say "nah! Let's just keep going!" I mentioned my heating stand-off on Facebook to find that everyone else I knew had already given up and turned up the thermostat. Nonetheless, I soldiered on.

Until today. Today it was 45 degrees and dropping and when I woke up this morning, my knees ached like an old man's when it's about to rain, my toes were chilly even with socks, and the air smelled like snow. So I finally ended this (again, pointless and completely arbitrary) battle with the elements and did what most normal people did a month and at least 10 degrees ago-- turned on the heat.

Even though I've had to concede defeat in a battle I had no chance of winning anyway, I'm quite proud of how far into Fall we made it. I'm still not sure what that says about me and my possible lack of a life.

Homemade ravioli is quite possibly one of the most awesome things ever.

Lazy Sunday.

Today has consisted of nothing but football watching and crockpot chili. I'm currently debating whether it's worth the effort to make cornbread as a side or just skip it.

....and now that it's been two hours since I wrote that sentence, it's pretty much confirmed that I'm skipping it.

After a few..... okay, six months of feeling a bit lost, I'm finally starting to get myself pointed in a direction as far as my life and career go. Up to now, I've been drifting along-- applying for jobs, contemplating the idea of going back to school while trying to sort out if it would hurt my unemployment status, feeling generally unsure of what my next move was, not knowing what I wanted to do but knowing I need to get out of the service industry. I'd been trying to figure out what exactly it was I wanted, but kept stuck with this overwhelming indecisiveness.

Over the last week or so, I've had a couple of important conversations with the people who love me and it may have finally been the kick in the pants I needed. It feels good to finally have a goal.

I find it a little sad that three days into my daily blogging challenge and I'm already slipping. I usually last at least a week.

Tomorrow will be all about breaking vows, choose-your-own-adventure pizza, and why I really need to replace my shower curtain with a door.

Voting and semi-ridiculous ideas.

Yay, election day! I dropped our ballots off earlier today. Even though it would have been simpler to drop it into the nearest ballot box, or heck, the nearest mailbox, but I like taking it to the courthouse to hand it in in person so that I can get the "I Voted!" sticker.

(It's a bit sad that I'm willing to go miles out of my way and wait in a line of cars just for a sticker. God only knows what I would probably do for a gold star.)

After other errands and a really good "happy birthday, Old Guy" conversation with my dad, I sat down and tore into some knitting. I still have a pair of armwarmers and a scarf from last month that need finishing touches, but today and yesterday called for some new projects for November.

As a show of solidarity with my boyfriend and other facial-haired friends participating in Movember, I started Incognito. Since I can't (thank God) grow my own mustache, making one out of yarn seemed to be the next best thing. I'm already halfway through the body of it, so with another day and some duplicate stitches, I should be ready to rock the 'stashe by the end of the week! With any luck, only 30% of people who see me will point when they laugh.

Even more ridiculous, however, was the Sock Yarn blanket I (sort of) started. The whole thing in itself is a bit crazy-- an entire blanket knit on size 2's from sock yarn? Seriously?-- but then I had to go and take the crazy to a whole new level. I currently have the hair-brained idea that I want to keep similar color groups together for a blanket that slowly shifts through the color wheel. I'm still not entirely sure how I'm going to do this, as I don't have nearly enough sock yarn leftovers to make the whole thing and will be picking up new colors as I go, but for now I'm still in that early "wonderful possibility" stage of the idea. I'm sure the "logistical nightmare" stage won't be too far behind.

National Blog Posting Month!

Along with NaNoWriMo, today marks the beginning of NaBloPoMo or, in other words, a month where a bunch of people set about the task of writing a lot.

I was previously all set to go this month, but truth be told, my heart's not really in it today. Maybe it's some sort of post-holiday hangover, or possibly the dreary weather, but I woke up feeling uninspired, listless, and just generally brood-y. Generally when I'm feeling like that, I try to simply hunker down with a cozy blanket, a pot of tea, and television I know by heart, but that just wasn't doing it for me today.

So I did something I haven't done in some time-- I attempted to indulge in some retail therapy. Although I'm not a currently active member, I've been diligently sticking with my Wardrobe Refashion challenge. With the exception of picking up a dress to wear to a wedding last summer, I haven't bought new clothing that wasn't underwear since February. Apparently my clothing diet has left me way out of practice, because I left the mall with a bath mat and conditioner. Having said that, if I can find a pair of knee-high boots I like, all bets are off.

I did, however, fall off the wagon pretty hard when it comes to knitting books-- Hat Heads, 101 Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders, and Stitch & Bitch Superstar Knitting are all sitting on the couch next to me. My Christmas knitting has just begun, so I can use all the ideas I can get. I'm already months behind!