RED HEART SUPER SAVER!

I went a little crazy today at Wal-Mart. I bought 11 skeins of the variegated. They were all the same dye lot and I wanted to make sure I had enough for the project I have planned. I am going to use this to make the munchkin an afghan. I plan on replicating an afghan that she uses a lot now. It's a single crochet ripple afghan that was made for me when I was a baby. I can't wait to see how it works up. But I have to finish my log cabin before I start on this one. I am so excited. I know it's only acrylic, but I think it's beautiful. And besides, for the amount of wear it's going to get, I want to make sure that it's going to hold up.

Bacterial Infection

There's a really good reason that I haven't posted yet this weekend. Friday night around 11 p.m. it all hit the fan at our house.

I was in bed reading my book and heard the munchkin crying. Of course, I hoped she would just go back to sleep. But after a little bit, I could tell that wasn't going to happen. So I went in to get her. She only has a night light in her room at night. When I grabbed her out of the crib I noticed a strange odor and her pajamas seemed to be wet.

Once I turned on the light, it was immediately apparent what we were dealing with. She had thrown up all over herself, all over the sheets, the blankets, and everything.

So I got her out of bed, gave her a bath to clean her off, set her down with the hubby, and went to work trying to sort out what needed to be done with the bedding.

Got that under control and was sitting in the chair with her so I could keep an eye on her throughout the night. Around midnight she threw up again. This continued all night.

At 7:45 I decided, even though the emergency room had said if it didn't clear up by mid-morning she should be seen, that we had had enough. I had done more laundry in the middle of the night than I do in any normal week during daylight hours.

Munchkin had her blood oxygen checked, blood taken, a pediatric urine collector applied, ears and throat checked, and pretty much everything else they can do to piss off a toddler.

In the midst of it all, munchkin kept asking for "Papa". So, we called my dad. Once she got to talk to Papa for a while, she seemed to do a little better.

In the end, the blood tests came back saying that her white count was elevated. She has a bacterial infection. They're suggesting that it could be a UTI, but we won't know anything until we can collect a specimen. I'm not even going to go into all the trouble we've had with the pediatric urine collectors!

Once we had picked up her prescriptions and some groceries, we came home. She slept for about 6 hours. I got around 4. Then, she proceeded to sleep for 12 hours last night. The poor little thing has been a real trooper through it all. It's obvious she doesn't feel well, but she's doing better now. She's playing more and beginning to laugh again. It's nice to see her smiling again.

Friday night was a long night. I can't remember the last time I was that tired. I'll be glad when she's better. I hate seeing her uncomfortable.

Seaside Scarf

This is one of my favorites. I love the color so much. It measures 4" by 8'. It's amazingly soft and snuggly. You could feel it around your neck.

Another finished scarf

My cousin tells me these are all the rage. I did one for her. This one measures 26" in diameter and 12" high. It goes straight over your head and bunches around your neck. Does it looks like it wants to come live with you?

Shall we call it an obsession?

For better or for worse I've chosen my next obsession. I want to spin. Yarn. Not the exercise. Only one problem with this plan. The wheel I want, the Ashford Traveler (check it out here) will only cost me around $500.

And once I have a spinning wheel, then I have to have something to spin. Raw fiber of any quality costs $5 per pound.

And once you have raw fiber, you have to card it to make it into roving. Hand carders, like these run from $55-60. Or I could get a drum carder, like this, and save my poor arms and hands. That's another $300-700.

So as you can see, it's going to be a while before I get to spin lovely, homemade fibers with which to crochet beautiful things. But my day will come.

Early morning dreaming

Early this morning I was having a dream about my mom's mom. She died a couple of years ago. Since she was the one who taught me to crochet, it was a big loss for me. I've always heard that when you have a dream about someone that's passed on, that's their way of telling you that they're OK. In my dream she was wearing the same kind of housecoat that I always remember her wearing.

Then today we went over to my parent's for Christmas. As part of my gift, I received Hooked: A Crocheter's Stash of Wit and Wisdom by Kari Cornell. I read the first essay before taking a nap. It talked about how crochet is passed on from person to person, generation to generation. As I said, my grandmother taught me to crochet. And now I'm passing the craft on to others.

I'd like to think that she's looking down on me and that the dream was her way of telling me that she's proud of what I'm doing.

Washing machine mishap

For a while now I've been working on a Christmas surprise for my father. It's now safe to write about it as both parents are off for the holidays and don't have internet at home. Two years ago my dad's dad died. I had taken two pairs of my grandfather's overalls and was crocheting a rag rug with them for my dad.

I spent hours cutting them into strips and crippling my hands working them into the rug. It really was beautiful. One pair was blue and white striped and the other was just solid denim. I alternated with 5 rounds of each. There were two stripes of each type. I finished last night.

Are you ready? If you can't stand the carnage, you really ought to just walk away now. I'm serious. I won't hold it against you.

I washed it.

Shouldn't cause any problems, right? WRONG! My washing machine ate the rug. If it had just been the edge that wouldn't be a big deal. I could have frogged the edge and given him a slightly smaller rug. However, it ate the center too. I'm devastated. I can't even stand to post an image. It's too frightening.

And the worst part? I now have no overalls with which to make anything. I killed them.

Horses, horses, horses

My favorite holiday scene from a movie. You don't have to watch very far. Just listen to Meg sing. It makes me laugh every time I watch it. Merry Christmas.

What's new?

In the past, getting ready for the holidays has not been a happy thing for me. It's hard to feel in the Christmas spirit when you know that the get together is going to be all work for you and bumpiness on a log for somone else.

But in the past few years I've been blessed. I've been so incredibly blessed. Christmas of 2005 was my first Christmas with my wonderful hubby and it also brought my nephew to the family. Christmas 2006 was the munchkin's first Christmas. Now that was a kick. And this Christmas looks to be equally as good as the last two. We have a beautiful tree, amazing presents for us and for the munchkin, and the food is looking good too.

It's truly amazing the difference one person can make in your life.

New people in our group

The other day my boss and I were talking about a meeting she'd had where she was asked if we'd be hiring two new writers next quarter. Our work load continues to expand and our time is limited. Hiring two new writers would be ideal. But we're picky. We don't want just any writer. This person needs to be able to fit into our group. So, what was her response?

"I'm not hiring a writer until I can find the right writer to hire."

Sounds like a Dr. Seuss book to me!

12 days

For your viewing pleasure. Oh, and to the hubby..."Oh LOOK! A CHICKEN!"

Stephanie's new scarf

This thing measured right around 8 feet. 4 inches by 8 feet. Boucle yarn. It was painful, but it turned out beautifully. I love making things for friends.

Word nerd example

Not only am I a total word nerd, but I take pictures of word nerd stuff. Here's what I saw.

My munchkin

Last night my munchkin was eating mashed potatoes and gravy. She was feeding herself. Of course, she was a mess. So I grabbed the camera to take some pictures. The moment I aimed the camera at her, the munchkin took one look at me with a megawatt grin and said, "CHEESE!"

I have no idea where she got that. Neither of us taught it to her!

Psychological barfing

Yep, that's what's been going on in the last few days. Pretty much, my world has been turned upside down. But I'm determined to move on and get past it. And to that end, I won't be discussing it here. But for all of you involved, thank you for all your kind thoughts and prayers.

In other news, yesterday was a blast. We went up to my aunt's house for the day. It was a combination Christmas celebration and birthday party for my grandfather. He turned 95. How amazing to make it that far in life and have all those that love you around.

I feel fortunate and blessed that I was able to take part in the celebration. It's not often anymore that our whole family gets together. We had so much fun.

New toy

The munchkin got a Sit N' Spin today. A lady at work was getting rid of hers and asked if I would like to have it. So far, she hasn't really figured it out, but she's trying. It's fun to watch her spin back and forth. She hasn't mastered around and around yet, but she'll get there. And in the meantime it's fun to watch her sit near it and spin it with her foot while she drinks her juice.

UPDATE: As of this morning, 12-7-07, she's already figured it out. She can spin all the way around. It didn't take much!

There is humor in crochet

As a lot of you know, I've been "teaching" an informal class on crocheting. Basically it's just a bunch of us getting together, chatting, and learning a little about crochet. A lot of fun.

Recently, one of the girls that I work with told me this story.

Evidently she was sitting on the couch, watching Friends and crocheting. Her husband took one look at her and said, "This is the biggest turn off ever."

I guess he doesn't think much of Friends. :)

Pineapples

Here's a pattern from Vanna. I love the way this turned out!

And here's the pineapples close up.

And here's the edging. It's a stitch I'd never done before and I'm so thrilled with the way it turned out!

Hubby ripple pictures

Here it is people. Pleasantville in crochet.

"Holey" scarf

This is another finished scarf without a home. If you feel it needs to live with you, feel free to contact me. The scarf measures 4" x 20" but I could duplicate it and make it longer this time around.

One skein scarf

Here's a scarf I completed that is one of the ones that launched my "business". It still has no home. If you would like to own it, contact me for purchasing information. I am making and selling these scarves. Do you have some of those hard to buy for people on your Christmas list? The scarf measures 6" x 50".

Success!!

We got it. It's going to be a Merry Christmas around our house. If the munchkin could talk, this is what she would tell us she wanted most. And they're only being sold at Scholastic Book Fairs. Fortunately, our local library had one this weekend. I stormed the castle gates at 10 a.m. and got one of the three they had. WOOHOO!

Crazy weekend

Wow. Busy last few days!

First, on Friday, I attended a session at work on internet security. I won a flash drive while there. That was pretty cool.

Friday night I attended our work holiday party. I won a $25 gift certificate to our local grocery store. Free money is never a bad thing.

Saturday I went to a friend's house for a Pampered Chef and Tastefully Simple party. I won a measuring cup.

Can this lucky streak hold up?

Lots of random updates

Things have been sort of up in the air lately. The hubby is STILL SICK. Yep, we've moved into the land of steroids and no sleep. He was threatened (By his doctor. Not by me. We passed that long ago.) with being admitted to the hospital. Miraculously he started feeling better that night. However, now he's not feeling so hot again. He's supposed to check in with the doctor tomorrow. That's when the steroids are gone. We'll see what's going on from there. Suffice it to say, I'm worried.

The munchkin is great. She's changing every day. Today she brushed her own teeth for the first time. I loved it. Until she threw a hissy fit when I took the toothbrush away. That wasn't so fun.

Work is great. I just found out today that I've got a big project due by noon on Tuesday. So I'll probably be working this weekend. But that's the way it goes.

And Saturday morning is the book fair where I intend to fight to the death for a Wow Wow Wubbzy doll and book. That is if they have them at this book fair!

Also, my nephew is going to be a big brother! The baby is due in May. Great month if you ask me!

Between Holidays

The excitement of Thanksgiving is over, and the mad rush of Christmas has not yet begun. This is always a strange lull for me.

My thoughts are turning to what projects I can finish before the New Year and what will have to wait. I always have such grand hopes and somehow manage to complete some of those projects.

I went to the library yesterday and got some books on crocheting. In one of them I found a bulky sweater type coat that I want to make for the munchkin. Now I just need to decide what color yarn to use.

But right now the push is to do scarves. I'm hoping to sell some of them. I've sold a few, but I'd like to do some more. I'm just not sure what the best way would be to go about this.

Peanut Butter

So, the munchkin likes those nasty cheese crackers with the peanut butter filling. But she bites on them until the crackers split apart. Then she eats the peanut butter out of the middle and then doesn't want to eat the crackers. It takes the promise of a new cracker to get her to eat the plain cheese crackers.

Family Thanksgiving

My family can never be conventional. We had our extended family Thanksgiving yesterday. Everyone (my parents, myself, the munchkin, my brother and sister-in-law and nephew, my grandfather, my aunt, uncle and their three kids) all met at my parent's house.

There was tons of food, as usual. I made a BLT dip that TOTALLY ROCKED! And there were all the usual delights.

My nephew was in rare form and he and the munchkin played and played and played. Made a scarf and sold it to my aunt. Easy way to make some quick cash. Also contracted with my cousin to make another one. Hoping she can drum up some business around campus for me.

The munchkin played with her cousin and had a great time. She showed everyone her "SURPRISE" face. She sucks in quickly, says, "What's that?" and everyone thinks it's the cutest thing. Of course, it is.

My grandfather, who turns 95 in December, was there. He spent most of the day napping, but I know he enjoyed getting out. We fed him well and even gave him so eggnog with rum in it. He liked that a lot.

Fall is splediferous

I had a craving this morning. I really wanted to stop at my favorite bagel shop for a large Chai tea and a bagel. On my way to work I pulled in.

I got a cinnamon raisin bagel, toasted, with pumpkin cream cheese.

Between my car being toasty warm, the spices in the Chai, and the pumpkiny spices in the cream cheese, my car smelled so good. It was all warm and spicy and wonderful. It seemed a shame to get out and go in to work. MMMMmmm. Fall yumminess.

And Julie brought pumpkin oatmeal cookies. Life is good.

I missed my calling

I had ordered some books off of Amazon.com for work. They arrived today. As usual, part of the packing material was these goofy bags of air. These always just blow my mind. Someone somewhere is making millions by selling air sealed in plastic bags.

And not only are they making money selling air in a bag, but based on how much volume you do per day, you can purchase a system based on your needs. That's right. If you need to produce more AIR per day, you can purchase a larger system.

No joke. Check it out here:

http://www.sealedair.com/products/protective/air/fillair.html

And I'm kicking myself because I know that I could have done this. There are so many things that I could have used to create this product myself. Heck, give me some saran wrap and a curling iron and I could have done the same thing. Just goes to show you that whoever has the silly idea first, wins!

Finished Scarf

Well, I finished the second scarf for the guy at work. Glad that's done. Now that my crocheting obligations for others are done, perhaps I can focus on completing projects on my wish list. As you can see from the sidebar, there's a plethora of objects to choose from. First and foremost is to make some progress on my log cabin. And Wubbzy. Those are the top two!

My failed list

Housework is probably half done.

Scarf #2 is progressing. I'm probably 75% done. I hope to finish it up tonight.

The log cabin is still way stuck in un-finished-ness.

Haven't touched Wubbzy this weekend.

Haven't finished my book. Although I have made some progress.

I just haven't felt very well this weekend. I kept hoping it would pass and it never really did. Right now I'm working on some laundry and the scarf. Think kind thoughts of me getting everything done before morning.

On the up side, I did get one of my friend Heidi's DVDs watched. Pretty cool.

That's quite the list

Wow. I listed all my UFOs and FOs on the sidebar. Once I get a working camera, I'll be taking pictures of the finished objects and removing them from the sidebar. Be on the lookout for those pictures!

To Do

So, I'm making a list of things that need to get done in the next three days.

Housework. Of course there's houswork. Living room needs to be vacuumed, kitchen floor needs cleaning, laundry, dishes, etc. ad nauseum.

Finish scarf #2 for Edward. Once that's done, my crochet obligations to others are done.

Get somewhere on my log cabin. I'm the host of the blog, so I really ought to make some progress.

Finish the body of Wow Wow Wubbzy doll.

Finish reading my book on the Black Dahlia murder.

I'm sure there's more. There's always more. Just what am I forgetting?

A day off

I took tomorrow off to stay home with the munchkin. It feels so good to be looking at a three day weekend and then a four day weekend next week. I'd like to get some reading done. I plan to get some crocheting done. And my friend Heidi loaned me some DVDs that she wants me to watch. I'm guessing that that and some crocheting will probably get done.

And of course there's housework. There's always housework. But that's OK. I'm really looking forward to trying to finish up some things around here.

Late night television

I went to bed late the other night. I turned on the TV, as I always do, and caught the tail end of a show called Manswers on Spike.

This episode happened to be about how tiny a G-string can be before it becomes illegal. Long story short, the "expert" involved said that any time he could see part of a woman's "vergina" then it was illegal. And this was a so-called expert. Sometimes I wonder about people out there!

My poor family

The munchkin is sick. So sick that she went down for a nap late yesterday afternoon, slept until I woke her around 6, and was back in bed by 8 for the night. As I write this, she's still sleeping.

The hubby is not yet over his pneumonia. Poor guy. He's on the really big antibiotics and they're helping, but not enough. I'm not quite sure what to make of this.

I'm the only one that's reasonably healthy. Last night I finished my pineapple afghan, made a scarf out of a random skein of homespun I had been gifted with, frogged my log cabin (which I'll begin anew tonight during crocheting group), and began the Wubbzy doll for the munchkin.

The doll is looking good so far. Of course, right now it's just the closed end of a pillowcase. But held it up to an image of Wubbzy on the TV last night and it looks spot on. Here's to hoping!

I hate stupid people

Picture Burger King on a Sunday afternoon.

Now, I'll admit I made the first mistake by going through the drive through, but really, I didn't think it was this difficult. I ordered exactly this way:

"I'd like a triple Whopper with mayo, onion, lettuce, and tomato only."

When the order came up on the screen as a plain Whopper with the additions, I thought I was home free.

It was not to be.

When I pulled into a parking space and checked the sandwiches before leaving the parking lot, the triple Whopper had cheese on it. So I went inside and told them what was wrong.

"The triple Whopper always has cheese on it."

"Even when you enter it as plain plus only four other ingredients?"

"They always come with cheese."

"Well then that's not plain, is it?"

Am I crazy here or is plain supposed to mean nothing else on it?

Sick munchkin

We're at home again with yet another ear infection. This one comes complete with chest congestion. They wanted to put her on zithromax, but I suggested perhaps we stick with a less expensive alternative that has worked in the past. We'll see how it goes in the next few days. If it doesn't work, I'll take her back in and cough up the cash for the big gun antibiotics.

Nearly completed Pineapple

Well gang, the pineapple is in the home stretch. I'm doing an edging on it of reverse single crochet. I must say, it looks pretty cool. I had never done the reverse single before. One word of advice, if you ever decide to use it, you might consider doing one round of single crochet all the way around the piece. It seems to make for a more stable foundation for this type of border.

Rip-it, Rip-it

Had to frog 8 rows of the panel of my pineapple afghan that I'm working on. I was in the final row of the panel when I realized an error I had made 8 rows back that fouled the whole thing up. It wasn't too bad. I've finished that panel now and am moving on to the last panel.

Next: Wow Wow Wubbzy doll for the munchkin

Life is good

Book group was at my house tonight. I made sweet potato fries for the first time. Here's the recipe:

5 sweet potatoes, cut into about 1 by 5-inch "fries"

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the sweet potato "fries" on a foil-lined baking sheet and toss with the olive oil. Bake until golden, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile combine the basil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. In another small bowl combine the mayonnaise, garlic, and lemon juice, and stir to combine.

When the sweet potato fries come out of the oven, sprinkle with the basil salt. Serve with the garlic mayonnaise alongside for dipping.

They were super good. Everyone, including the hubby, chowed down.

In other news, the afghan from the Vanna pattern is coming along beautifully. I'm approximately 65% done. And I'm considering frogging my log cabin and starting over again with a different stitch. I'm just not thrilled with it so far. I don't know. Maybe I'll start over again with a different stitch before frogging.

Log Cabin

Well, I'll admit that my log cabin afghan has not grown at all since the first night I worked on it. But I will get back to it. I swear. I've been working on the other afghan that I mentioned in a previous post. I don't know why, but I've picked the 15th of December as the date by which to have it finished. I wanted to give it to a girl in my crochet group who just went nuts over it, but then I decided that if I did that, I'd have to make each of them one. I'm just not prepared to do that. So it will go to Project Linus. Worthy cause.

Tonight is book group. And it's at my house. Can't wait. Should be a whole lotta fun and a bunch of girly time. That's one of the things I love best. The girly time. :)

Finishing things

I've always been one to start things and then not necessarily finish them. So, once I finished the hubby's ripple, I started my log cabin. It's going fine, but I'm not really sure what I think of it yet. So I pulled out a project I had started years ago.

I'm working on an afghan this weekend from Ms. Vanna White (I know. I hear you groaning). It's from her Favorite Gift Afghans book. The pattern is called Welcome Neighbor and is deceptively simple. The pineapples appear more like strawberries to me and my crocheting group, but it's lovely none the less. I'm working with some older Red Heart Jewel Tones that I had stashed away from when it went on clearance. I got approximately 10 skeins (all the same dye lot) for 50 cents each.

It's cheerful, I just don't know who will be the lucky recipient. Maybe Project Linus.

Everyone at my house is napping. Or, at least they were. I think I just heard the munchkin. That's all for now.

Looking for help

What you're seeing here is an assortment of images from a show called Wow Wow Wubbzy! that my daughter is obsessed with. I got the idea of crocheting her a Wubbzy doll. I can handle the body easily. And the tail is a snap as well. I'm just not sure how to do the ears, the fingers, the arms, and the legs as all one piece.

The idea that I've come up with, and tell me if you think this will work, is to crochet the body leaving a hole on either side where I can come back, attach the yarn and create the arms. I'd do the same thing at the bottom for the legs.

I see the fingers as more of a challenge. My thought is to crochet the palm and upper portion of the hand and leave four rings of stitches for spots where I can attach the yarn and create the fingers. But I'm open to suggestion. I am SO open. Please help here. I've never done anything like this.

Ripple is done

Well folks, I have another finished object. I finished the hubby's black and grey ripple last night. I'll post a picture here as soon as I can get one. I'm pretty proud of it. It's just short (about an inch and a half) of seven feet. In order to get it to be at least seven feet, I would have had to repeat the grey and black one more time and that would have made it approximately 7' 4". I thought that was a little too long and unwieldly, so I stopped just short of seven feet.

I have to say that I think it looks great. I know that I wasn't really thrilled about working entirely in black and grey, but I think it really looks sharp. Be on the lookout for a picture!

I stole this from Stephanie's blog. I liked it so much, I thought I'd do it.

57 Confessions



1. The phone rings, who do you want it to be? Someone telling me I've won something for free. I love free.



2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart? Yes. Must set a good example for the munchkin.



3. In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener? Both, probably leaning more toward talking.



4. Do you play Sudoku Puzzles? Sure do, but not often.



5. If abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive? I'm going to say a big, fat no on that one!



6. Do you like to ride horses? Yes, very much.



7. Did you ever go to summer camp as a kid? Nope.



8. What was your favorite game as a kid? When my brother and I would use a balloon to play volleyball in the livingroom.



9. Use three words to describe how you're feeling at this moment: Content, Happy, Sleepy.



10. Do any songs make you cry? I'm Already There by Lonestar. Check it out on Youtube.



11. Are you continuing your education? OH YEAH! Going back to school in the spring to get my Master's in Language and Rhetoric. Can you believe how much of a nerd I am? This is what excites me!



12. Do you know how to shoot a gun? Nope. But I would love to learn.



13. If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you would grab? My daughter.



14. How often do you read books? All the time. Do you see the sidebar. Yep, I read more than one at a time.



15. Do you think more about the past, present, or future? Present and future. Trying desperately to let go of the past. So much of it's not worth remembering.



16. What is your favorite children's book? Emma Bean.



17. What color are your eyes? Grey to blue...depending on what I wear.



18. How tall are you? 5'2"



19. Where is your dream house located? Near my family.



20. Are you married? 2nd time around.



22. Do you have any kids? One beautiful munchkin girl.



23. Have you ever taken pictures in a photo booth? Yep. A couple of times. SO fun!



24. When was the last time you were at Olive Garden? Too long ago!



25. Do any of your friends have kids? Most of them. I love it.



26. Where was the furthest place you traveled? Probably either Florida or Texas.



27. Do you like mustard? More and more as I get older.



28. Do you prefer to sleep or eat? Truly a toss up here.



29. How long does it take you in the shower? 15 mins. The new short "do" sure helps with that.



30. Can you do splits? HA HA HA HA HA HA. no



31. What movie do you want to see right now? There's a new one out with Dustin Hoffman that's rated "G" that looks pretty good.

32. Do you think The Grudge was scary? Never seen it.

33. Do you own a camera phone? Nope.

34. Were you a cheerleader? I tried. They didn't want me. :(

35. What's the last letter of your middle name? N.

36. How many hours of sleep do you get a night? 6-8.

37. Do you like Care Bears? I used to have figurines and cups.

38. What do you buy at the movies? Popcorn and something chocolate. Or Twizzlers.

39. Do you like Sci-Fi? Not particularly.

40. Do you wear your seatbelt? Always.

41. What do you wear to sleep? That's some pretty priviledged info.

42. Anything big ever happen in your town? We had a murder not too long ago.

43. How many meals do you eat in a day? Two, sometimes three.

44. Is your tongue pierced? No. EWW.

45. Do you read Myspace bulletins? I don't have any space on MySpace.

46. Do you have your nose pierced? I like my nose just fine with only two holes.

47. Do you like funny or serious people better? Funny.

48. Ever been to L.A.? Never.

49. Did you eat a cookie today? No, and please don't make me think about it. But I did have a couple of cupcakes.

50. Do you use cuss words in other languages? On occasion.

51. Do you steal or pay for your music downloads? Haven't downloaded anything in quite some time.

52. What do you and your parents fight about the most? We don't really fight anymore. Thankfully.

53. Are you a gullible person? I can be.

54. Do you need a boyfriend/girlfriend to be happy? No, but I sure do like having my hubby!

55. If you could have any job (assuming you have the skills) what would it be? I would read books to decide whether or not they should be published.

56. Are you easy to get along with? Not so much.

57. What is your favorite time of day? Probably any time that I'm spending with my family. I guess that means 5 p.m. and later.

Dreaming

I've begun dreaming about yarn. Not just standard, Red Heart, acrylic yarn. But the good stuff. The cotton, the wool, the alpaca, eyelash, boucle, and everything in between. And I'm not talking daydreaming. Oh no. This is where it enters the nighttime world.

I work for a rather large company in my hometown. (OK, so we're a Fortune 500 company) I had a dream the other night that I was working out on the manufacturing floor. It involved large (read: 10ft x 10ft x 4ft) wooden crates with smaller boxes packed inside.

And guess what the packing material was. YARN! Wonderful mill ends of yarny goodness.

And the person in charge said, "Yeah, we just throw it away. So help yourself."

And all I could think was, OMG, this is thousands of dollars worth of supplies. How will I ever get it home? What will the hubby say. Who cares? IT'S ALL MINE! GET OUT OF MY WAY! DON'T YOU DARE MENTION THIS TO ANYONE ELSE!

And I've had other dreams about yarn too. I wake up covered in slobber. Life is good when you dream about yarn.

Poor guy!

The hubby has a raging case of bronchitis/pneumonia. He will not be having surgery on the 1st as previously planned. We have postponed until next month after Thanksgiving. Right now he's miserable.

I'm of the opinion that they ought to put him in the hospital, sedate him, and give him fluids and antibiotics intravenously. But what do I know. I'm just the wife. And you know about men and doctors. Although, this week, it seems the hubby has had his doctor on speed dial!

Just for laughs

My mom sent me these a while ago. I found them too funny not to share. Enjoy them!


Best 'Out of Office' Automatic e-mail Replies:

1. I am currently out of the office at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. Please be prepared for my mood.

2. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn't have received anything at all.

3. Sorry to have missed you, but I'm at the doctor's having my brain and heart removed so I can be promoted to our management team.

4. I will be unable to delete all the emails you send me until I return from vacation. Please be patient, and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.

5. Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged $5.99 for the first 10 words and $1.99 for each additional word in your message.

6. The email server is unable to verify your server connection. Your message has not been delivered. Please restart your computer and try sending again. (The beauty of this is that when you return, you can see who did this over and over and over....)

7. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.

8. Hi, I'm thinking about what you've just sent me. Please wait by your PC for my response.

9. I've run away to join a different circus.

10. I will be out of the office for the next two weeks for medical reasons. When I return, please refer to me as 'Lucille' instead of Steve.

Now hear this...

THE HUBBY IS RIGHT!

I know. Don't let word get around. And for goodness sake, Christianne, don't tell the pigeons! But he truly is correct. I've been working harder at staying on top of the cleaning around the house. And it truly is so much easier to clean a little bit every day, or a little more every week than it is to do it all in one big shot if someone is coming over.

So far today I haven't done a whole lot, but the housework is almost done. I still need to do the bathrooms and the kitchen floor, but that pretty much covers it.

So, you heard it here first. I'll admit that he was right.

I did it

The hair is gone. I had my first shot at learning to style it this morning. I have to say, I didn't do very well. I hope to try again tonight before I go to bed. And I also plan to get up early so that I have plenty of time to make myself presentable before heading to work. I just really hope that I can make it look decent. But the way the stylist styled it, I loved it. So maybe I need more mousse or something. Basically, I'm hair and makeup challenged!

In other news, the munchkin and I will be heading to a Halloween party on Tuesday night. We're going as a pizza. I painted it this afternoon. I'll cut a slice out of it and munchkin will wear it. I'll wear the rest. Should be a good time. There's a bunch of other people from work going to be there and some of them are bringing their kids. So the munchkin should have a good time too. We won't be there long. It doesn't start until 7 and the munchkin needs to be in bed by 8.

I am working furiously on the hubby's afghan. It needs at least another foot to be finished. Possibly two. But I keep working on it.

Tomorrow Teri comes back. And boy am I glad! I've missed her a lot and it will be good to have my normal tech writer life back.

New blog

I started a new blog. Anyone interested can check it out at http://logcabinfever.blogspot.com If you know anyone that crochets or knits log cabin stuff, send them our way! I'm the administrator, and I'll admit that it doesn't look like much yet. But we already have several members. Can't wait to see what people are making!

It's strange the way things work out

Today was a crazy day. Lots of goofy things going on. I had meetings all morning and no one was there all afternoon. Joe was gone as is normal for a Friday afternoon. Billy always has Fridays off. And Julie had taken the afternoon off because she didn't have daycare. So I was all by myself. But I managed to keep myself occupied with my work and stimulating conversation that came my way. Grant stopped by with some really funny lady who said I'm just a wealth of knowledge and seemed to be really happy that I was able to help her. I don't know who she is, but I've seen her around. She seemed really cool. And Grant said that I've become his best friend and have been so helpful. Good to know that I held it together while Teri was gone.

And, yes, Teri is coming back to work on Monday. Cue the music!

Crack Head Hair

So, I'm getting my hair cut this weekend. As it is right now, it's just boring. Long. Straight. Hanging in my face. Generally being annoying. After Saturday morning, here's what it will look like.

Except no red. The red really doesn't match my complexion. But I am so excited. I'll be donating the hair I cut off to Locks of Love. Check it out. http://www.locksoflove.org/ Everytime I get crazy and chop it all off, I donate it. It's just something that makes me feel good. There are very few selfless things that I can do in this world. Consider donating your hair or money. It's worth it.

We're hanging in there

Well, the hubby and I are both sick. We're resting as much as possible because we both have a full week coming up.

I'm getting my eyes checked. And boy is that long overdue! I'm trying to decide if I stick with the frames I have (very flexible and almost disappear into my face) or get new ones (something updated and maybe not so expensive). The only reason this is even an issue is because I want to keep the flexibility as the munchkin likes to pull them off my face. In order to get new lenses put in these frames, they have to send them in. I CAN NOT drive without my glasses. So I guess I'll look around and see what they have.

Since we've both been sick this weekend, nothing much has been going on around here. I've been sitting in my chair either crocheting or reading. Right now I'm re-reading A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. It's our book club book this month. I'm taking notes and looking at resources online since I'm the one leading this month. Should be fun. We're meeting earlier than usual to try and avoid the rush before Thanksgiving.

Munchkin's as happy as can be. Hubby gave her an empty 2-Liter pop bottle. She thinks that's great. Plus, she's just as cute as can be.

I had a blast!

Last night was the first meeting of our crochet group. More people than I expected showed up, we had a lot more fun than I thought we would, and it was just a really great time over all. We decided to meet every other week. I anticipated people wanting to get together once a month, so I was thrilled by this prospect.

Several delightful things happened. Some people ended up with chains ten feet long, other with chains a yard long. Some were really tight, and some were dangerously loose. Some combined both extremes into one chain.

On person is making a pot holder, three people are working on scarves, and everyone else is just learning the basics.

Because we're a bunch of women, talk turned to childhood toys. There was Barbie, My Little Pony, Polly Pocket, and many more. We all told funny stories about toys and our childhood. I think I'm really going to love this group!

I'm in love

I have two new loves in my life. Hibachi House, and Hershey's not-so-new-anymore, wonderfully delicious Cacao Reserve.

Last night the munchkin and I ventured to the grocery store in search of something quick and easy to have for dinner. I have been eyeing these Hibachi House meals (http://www.hibachihouse.com/) for quite some time, but haven't ventured to try one. "They couldn't be that good or have very much food," I kept telling myself. Wrong. On both counts. TONS of food, and was it ever delicious. I had the Polynesian Chicken, but I can't wait to try the other varieties.

For dessert I picked up a Hershey's Cacao Reserve Bar. Premium Milk Chocolate. 35% Cacao. This, I theorized, would also not be worth my money, but as I've been eyeing them as well, I gave it a shot. Worth every penny of the 99 cents that I paid for 4 smallish squares of this delight. Smooth consistency, delightful chocolate flavor, rich, delicious, and oh so wonderfully melty.

I will buy both of these again. Spend your money people. Totally worth it!

People drive stupidly

What is it about rain that makes people drive like idiots. I always thought you were supposed to drive for the conditions. Of course, with these people, it's a constant condition of stupidity. So I guess I can understand why they drive like morons.

Someone cut right out in front of me without even looking. Part of me wanted to flash my lights at them while flipping them off and honking my horn. Then I quickly realized that, not only did I not have enough hands to complete all those actions simultaneously, but that would probably decrease my driving skill. So I just sat there and continued to drive. One of these days I'm going to do something really outrageous like follow them until they stop and then give them a piece of my mind. Of course, my luck, it would be like the girl my dad talked to. "Where in the hell did you get your driver's license?" "In a little brick building right over there." Yep, that kind of stupidity I don't need!

A tribute

Homage to one of my favorite shows.

Starting her young

The other morning while taking the munchkin to daycare, I couldn't bear the thought of listening to her music. So I had my favorite radio station playing. They played "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne. I love the song. Evidently so does the munchkin. All of a sudden, from the back seat, I hear a 20-month-old voice say, "No way, no way". I almost had to stop the car I was laughing so hard!

No longer a UFO

I'm so excited. This is my first finished object that I've been able to post to my blog. Check it out! It's a scarf I made for my sister-in-law's birthday. I am rather pleased with the way it turned out. It's over six feet long with the border. And I think it might be quite a while before I work with boucle again. Of course, never say never. Comments? Suggestions? Requests?

Crocheters Unite!

The more people I talk to at work, the more seem interested in learning to crochet. Our potential group has grown in membership from 3 or 4 to almost double digits. This is very exciting to me. We've got a whole group of very fun women together and can't wait to get started. I even found my extra hooks today. They've been MIA for quite some time. Now I can lend them to people on Wednesday night if they need them. I'm so looking forward to seeing the yarns and patterns people have chosen.

Too profound for a Friday afternoon

On the way home from work yesterday I was listening to my favorite radio station. The topic of the day was "Things everyone should do before they die". My list is short.

1- Have your heart broken.
2- Love someone with your whole heart.
3- Learn to love someone without expecting anything in return.

Yep. Pretty deep. And while I would wish that my munchkin never had to experience the pain of a broken heart, you can't know the wonderful things that come from loving someone with your whole heart if you don't know the pain of having your heart broken. It's that whole highs and lows thing.

I want to hear what your lists include. Don't be shy. And for goodness sake, don't feel the need to get all deep like I did. I've just been thinking a lot lately.

We need a name

In talking about my crocheting, I have piqued the interest of five or six girls at work. They all want to learn. Some have a bit of prior knowledge, but at least a couple have no idea what they're doing. Thank goodness the basics are so easy! We will be meeting at our public library next week to get started. I am very much excited. I have people asking about patterns, types of yarn, etc. Should be a great time. Plus, I've arranged for my mom to babysit, so I won't constantly be pulling the munchkin's hands out of people's bags! Wahoo! Now, if the group survives, we'll need a name. I'm at a loss here.

elann.com

What a horrible place for me to go and wish! Here's my first desire. 100% cotton. I bet it's very nice.

http://www.elann.com/productdisp.asp?NAME=elann%2Ecom+Sonata&Season=&Company=&Cat=ALLY&ProductType=5&OrderBy=&Count=45

I love these colors (but not together).

Victorian Grape

Peacock Blue

Pecan

Deep thought

Why do you cook bacon, but bake cookies?

Sometimes you just know

Ever have one of those odd feelings with your children where you just know that something's not quite right. Mother's Intuition, I salute thee. I had just such a feeling yesterday morning. Without any provocation from daycare, I called and made her a doctor's appointment. She'd been congested all weekend and sleeping more than normal.

Ear infection. One ear, possibly both. Antibiotics can be a wonderful thing. I'm told that this winter will be a telling one for us. If the ear infections continue, we may be looking at tubes. Not quite sure what to think about that.

Somebody stop me because I believe I was productive today!

Yep, cleaned the house, took care of the munchkin, cooked meals, read some for work and even some for pleasure, crocheted, even...are you ready for this one...organized my craft room.

It is entirely possible that my husband and my mother are the only ones who will understand the enormity of this undertaking. Dawn, if you are by chance reading this, you might as well. I worked for a good three hours and was still not done. I even vacuumed the floor. And there's floor space. Who knew that the carpet in that room was a lovely cream color?

There's still stuff in the room that doesn't belong there because it's not craft related. But that amount is gradually being reduced. I moved the sewing machine to a new location. And I'm thinking of moving my glider rocker and matching footstool down there. This shall become my space. My safe haven. Do not enter under penalty of being stabbed with the sharpest crafting implement I can find. I need a source of music (slobber, slobber, iPod), a lovely lamp (which I think I can steal from the living room), and plenty of time to kick back and enjoy all the lovely crafts that will occur. Or maybe I'll just hide away and read a book for a while. Wow, to be uninterrupted. I don't know what I'll do with myself.

In other news, the munchkin went to bed early as did the hubby. I am currently by myself in the living room. This is not totally unusual, but let's examine the situation.

1- It's after dark and I'm the only one awake.

2- It's after dark and I'm still awake.

3- I can read, watch TV, crochet, blog, or surf, as I wish, with no one bothering me.

Ah. Life is good. Now, if I just didn't work for a company that seemingly doesn't believe in Monday holidays. Another whole day to enjoy my clean house and crochet. Hmm. Finish the secret project. Which, by the way, is lovely and coming along nicely. Can't wait to finish it this week!

My latest slobber-fest

http://www.brittanyneedles.com/

*drool drool*

Both beautiful and functional. Who could ask for more? I want all of them.

Frogging, thy name is mud

For those of you not familiar with the lingo, frogging is slang for ripping apart a crocheted or knitted item. It is so named because frogs say "ribbit, ribbit" and that is similar to "rip it, rip it".

I'm working on a new project (shhh, it's a secret) and I've had to rip out a good chunk of it multiple times. At least 3, if not 4. And the yarn that I'm working with makes that even more difficult. But I insist upon this being right! So the frogging shall continue as needed. Maybe I'll make great progress this weekend.

I shouldn't laugh. But I did.

Thanks to my mom for sending this one. I still giggle every time I watch it!

Ding Ding - Round 1

My daughter is a fighter. No flight here.

Today at daycare a fight broke out between the munchkin and a girl that's one day younger than her, but much larger than her. There was no toy involved and our daycare provider isn't at all sure what started the whole deal. But evidently the other girl pushed the munchkin. The munchkin reacted by swinging - with both arms. Finally she backed the other girl into a corner. The other girl continued to try and push, but munchkin held firm. Now the other girl's afraid of her.

Normally I'm not a fan of physical violence, but I bet that girl never pushes my daughter again.

Lackawanna

I can't seem to get moving this morning. I've got the lackawanna blues. Yep. I've got a lack of "wanna". I don't wanna get up. I don't wanna go to work. I don't wanna deal with the day to day stuff that is part of being human.

My next project will be to crochet a likeness of myself, animate it, and send it out to face the world. The munchkin has succeeded is losing a library book. You may be asking yourself, "How does an eighteen-month-old lose a library book?" I can't tell you. All I know is that I brought the thing home from the library and haven't seen it since. I did not pack it to go to Nana and Papa's. It did not go to daycare. I have turned the house upside down in search of it. My only theory is that it went out with the trash. Guess we own it if it ever turns up!

I have no life - Installment 1

Yesterday afternoon I got crazy. That's right folks, I attacked the kitchen floor. The previous owners of this home, racial category to be left un-named, were of a persuasion that cooks with a lot of heavy grease. Consequently, our kitchen linoleum looked quite the worse for wear. All around the edges of the room it had the appearance of being muddy. The ground in type. And the Swiffer wet just wasn't doing it.

I got a wild hair yesterday and decided to take it on while the hubby and munchkin were napping. Mr. Clean, a scrubber, and several hours later, I emerged victorious. The floor looks almost brand new. The improvement is so amazing I can hardly believe it myself. I have some aching muscles to show for it, but the pride I feel is pretty great. Now, if I could just figure out how to do the same to the carpet on the stairs. Would someone please explain how grease can get trapped on the edges of carpeting lining the stairs?

1-800-CHINESE

I believe we must order too much Chinese food delivered to our home. Last night, when we placed our order, I was confirming that they had gotten the whole order. When asking about the spare ribs the hubby had requested, the man on the phone said, "You usually get the dumplings, right? But tonight you want spare ribs?"

I almost didn't get the phone hung up before I collapsed into giggles. Either we eat too much takeout, or they have a really great memory at that place!