I love that noise

Ah. Today is one of those late summer days that holds grey skies and soft noises of rain. There's also the occasional rumble of thunder. Life is good when the weather is like this. This is absolutely, no doubt, my favorite type of weather. It's the kind of day that begs for either a good book or a crochet hook and a good project. And Lord knows I have so many good projects in the works!

I'm both reading and crocheting in intervals. There's the weekend housework interspersed. Of course, I don't attack the housework with equal gusto, but it must be done. So far I've cleaned toilets, done some laundry, and vacuumed. The next plan is scrubbing kitchen and bathroom floors. I've got pandora playing in the background. Should at least keep me mentally occupied.

It's really pouring out there right now. Would it be really naughty if I just cut the whole "housework" idea and went for the chair and the book?

Hooray!

My parents came over for dinner tonight. We ordered chicken from Pizza Ranch and had mom's apple crumble with cinnamon ice cream for dessert. What a treat. One of the things I've missed most in the years since I left home is the baked goods!

A big thanks to my brother and sister-in-law. I asked and received. They went to Barnes and Noble and got me a copy of the fall issue of Interweave Crochet. Once I finish the hubby's afghan I'll be trying this out. It's a pattern that I've been looking for for a long time. Now, I just have to choose a color and yarn.

Silver

Yes, it's true. I figured it out today. I've been crocheting for 25 years. Yep. A whole quarter of a century. It's no wonder I have tendonitis in my left index finger. My mother said something about aging gracefully. I think it will be really graceful when I can no longer bend that finger. It will look like I'm constantly flipping people off!

Yesterday made me tired

And today did the same. Yesterday was a 10 hour work day. For a lot of the people at my company, that's not saying much. For me, it's saying a lot. I don't usually work overtime at the end of my day like that. On the weekend, sure, but not at the end of the day. Around 11 I got a phone call from my boss informing me that we had a display stuck in French customs. The display would not be released until the French authorities had received the proper paperwork. We were to take an existing manual and remove all of one kind of reference. Not a problem. Until the document becomes corrupted and decides to FREAK OUT! It took 7 hours to get it done. But Julie and I got it out the door. She was great. She stuck it out. Heck, she stuck me out. We double-teamed it. It was actually kind of fun. Not that I'd want to do it again...

So no lunch break yesterday, and none today either. But I feel fulfilled. It's a good day when work makes you feel that way.

Other than that, not much new. Hubby's toe is healing...sort of. It looks really gross. But it has to get better, right?

Munchkin's doing great. She got a balloon at the grocery store tonight. She's thrilled. I love how little it takes to amuse them at this age. She's saying so much now. She's going to be a smart one.

Some days you're the windshield

And some days you're the bug. Seems like we've been the bug over the last 24 hours. I'm not going to go into extreme detail, but we've had to deal with a sleepless child, no daycare, and the hubby turning his little toe into hamburger. He stubbed it, ripped it open, and refuses to go to the doctor. Instead, we're treating it at home. I'm not sure how wise this is, but it's his choice.

So I'm home. AGAIN. Today. But, it could be the best thing in the situation. I only got three hours of sleep. It will be nice to sleep when I can today. And it's a good thing I have the opportunity to work from home. Of course, I'm not doing that yet, but I will be. And maybe I can get some housework done too. Or maybe I won't. We'll just see.

Ripples

Found a new blog today that simply fascinates me. They're a bunch of ripple afghan makers. As I'm currently at work on a ripple for the hubby, this is fortuitous. I've posted a comment on their blog http://neisripplealong.blogspot.com/ in the hopes that they'll check me out and I can get in on the rippling fun. Now, if only my digital worked so that I could get a pic of my ripple in progress!

Relaxing on a Sunday

You know, it's very strange. I probably haven't gotten this much done in a weekend in over two years (well, except for the weekend we moved here), but I feel like I could still do more.

Munchkin's in having a nap. So is the hubby. What did I do with my time while the munchkin was napping and the hubby was up here to listen for her? I went down and started organizing the craft room. It's a wreck down there right now. It's sort of in the phase of "it gets worse before it gets better." That would drive the hubby crazy. But I did get all the yarn and yarn related projects pulled out into the hallway. I also sorted through about 7 boxes of books and kept some and got rid of some. The next step will be to go through all the fabric stuff and get that all sorted and boxed. Once that's done it's just a matter of vacuuming and getting everything stacked in the appropriate location. That room holds everything we don't really know what to do with. Kind of a crappy deal because I would really like it to be much more organized and functional.

I'm back to crocheting after a two month (or so) hiatus. I had to take some time off when I found out that I had tendonitis in my left index finger. After some time icing and taking ibuprofen, I'm back. I've been working on the hubby's afghan. His request is a black and gray zig zag pattern. It's coming along. I haven't decided yet what the next project will be. I'm kind of in the middle of a lot of things. That's a bad habit I have. I tend to start things and not finish them. But I do plan on paring down the supplies in the craft room.

Busy weekend planned

Wow, I don't know the last time my weekend was this full. Tonight the munchkin and I are going over to my parents' house for a spaghetti dinner. The hubby's not going. He's a little off his feed. Tomorrow is watching my brother run and then going to Summit for the Fog Fest. Then Sunday night everyone is coming over here for dinner. Lots of stuff planned. And somewhere in there I have to get housework done.

I've been reading this book on language. It's certainly not moving very quickly. I'm enjoying it, but it's non-fiction. That could be part of what's slowing me up. Or it could be that my reading time has diminished lately.

Also, I've been researching Top Down Crocheted sweaters. I'm not having much luck. I did find this link. And it's from another cool blog. I actually found a couple of crochet blogs. Check them out if you're interested...

http://ellenbloom.blogspot.com/2007/01/top-down-crocheted-cardigan.html
http://hookandi.blogspot.com/2006/01/modular-and-top-down-crochet-great.html

No book group :(

Munchkin is sick, so I won't be going to book group. I'm bummed, but this is what being a mom is about. Plus, there will be others that won't be able to go, and maybe we can all get together later.

Today has been a lazy day. I've been doing some housework, but at my own pace. By the way, that pace would be incredibly slow. And not a whole lot of it has been getting done. But I was determined to relax today, at least as much as this sick child would let me.

This weekend I'll be going to the Fog Fest with my family. Should be an interesting time. Some of my North Dakota and Wyoming relatives will be in town. I'm looking forward to seeing them. Plus, one of my cousins has a volleyball game. The munchkin should enjoy all that activity. She's such a flirt that she'll probably have a great time!

Sick day

Yep, I'm home today with a sick munchkin. She is so crabby and is running a temp. Always my favorite combination. So today I've been a combination errand runner, medicine distributor, laundry mistress, housekeeper, mother, wife, and basically all around crab myself. Housework always makes me crabby. Am I alone in this?

Other things of note - our new full-time employee started. Julie's great. We just kind of threw her right in on a project that needed to get done, but not anytime soon. She's been working so hard and trying to feel out her new role. I feel badly for her. It's tough to start in a new group and a new position. But I love the gusto that she's expressed already. She's a positive person and I know I'm going to like having her around. If nothing else, it's great to have another mother in the department.

The other morning on the way to daycare I saw a car filled with inflated balloons. It was too funny. I wish I had a picture. What I wouldn't give to see the look on the owner's face. What a great prank. It will take someone a while to clean it up, but it doesn't hurt the car at all. I'll have to remember that one.

Also, my friend Amy had her baby last night. I know she's happy to have that over with. She was so uncomfortable near the end. Of course, that didn't compare with the discomfort she experienced early on. She was so sick for a long time.

Tomorrow night is book group. Should be a good time. The book was great. And I'm really interested in starting the new one. It's a type I don't read often, so I should learn a lot.

I think that about covers things. Better get back to things. Clothes are done drying and there's plenty more to do.

Not the weekend I planned

I had grand hopes for the weekend. I wanted to get a bunch of cleaning and reading done. Neither of those has happened. I've spent this weekend trying not to get sick. Yeah, right, like that ever happens. I have to say it was pretty bad today. Mom and Dad were supposed to come over for dinner, and instead, by 9 a.m. I was bailing. Between munchkin being sick and taking care of myself, I've had my hands full.

But I did finish her room and give her a bath. I also finished a book. But that's been the extent of my activity this weekend. The house is a wreck, and frankly, Scarlett, I don't give a damn. It will happen. It's just not happening right now. The hubby's in the living room watching a movie I'm not very interested in. More power to him. He's been so great this weekend. Very understanding of me being sick. He's definitely a keeper. Munchkin's running around like a goober. Took some great pictures of her using her ear of corn as a phone. I'll have to share them once I get them developed. Well, I suppose it's back to my chair and my book. This much has me worn out. I'm such a wuss.

Postsecrets.com

www.postsecrets.com

I stole this one from Emily's blog. I find it highly interesting. We're all voyeurs at heart.

Honestly a great day

I presented my corporate training session today. It was quite possibly the best presentation I've given yet. I had just the right size group (around 15), active participants, and just a good time in general. I even received a compliment from one of the attendees afterwards.

I also got two other compliments on my ability as a tech writer today. I ran from meeting to meeting, got a little work done on my current manual, delegated several things, fielded phone calls, responded to emails, took the next step in our march towards re-design of a specific type of manual, and just generally gave it all I had. Feels really good to have that kind of a day.

Tonight I'm just going to have a frozen pizza, maybe a glass of wine, relax and watch some TV, read my book, and go to bed. I bet I sleep like a rock tonight!

Organized munchkin

My child is obsessed with my planner. Last night I brought it home with me from work. It's a beast. It's 8x10 and probably 2 inches thick. But she insisted on carrying it out of daycare. She got very upset when I took it from her to put her in the carseat. At one point, on the drive home, I had to slow down in a shorter amount of space than I would have liked. This caused the planner to slide down onto her ankles. It was heavy enough that she almost couldn't hold on to it. There was this whine from the backseat until I scootched it up for her. And the crying that happened when I took it away from her just long enough to get her out of the carseat...you'd have thought I was abusing her.

When we got home, she handed it to the hubby when he took her from me. And she wouldn't be parted from it. The hubby had to hold it in his lap while he sat with her and she had her cookies and juice. This morning, I left it in the house by mistake. The hubby brought it down to me in the garage. When she saw him come with it, and then me put it in the front seat, pouts ensued. She pouted and whined half way to daycare! I dread the day she figures out the zipper!

A tribute to the hubby

The hubby watches a lot of CSI. He recently got into the Miami episodes. He always laughs at David Caruso. So, for him, I found this. Enjoy!

September 11th

As usual there's been a lot in the news about the anniversary of the attacks on the US. I got to thinking about it again this week. I've watched the date approaching with some fear. As always, I hope that this will not be the year that someone gets the bright idea to attack again. I understand from a friend in Florida that the security at the airports is much higher than usual. It would take an immense amount of planning to get something like that through.

I can't help but remember that day. I remember being at work and my mom calling me to tell me that my brother had landed at the Logan airport in Boston. When he and his co-workers got off the plane, airport staff was waiting there to meet them. They were not allowed to stop and use the bathroom or get a cup of coffee. They were only allowed to pick up their luggage. Other than that, they were only told that the airport was being closed. On the way to baggage claim, several people were trying to get through to relatives on their cell phones. By this time, the first tower was down and there was a lot of difficulty getting through. When they finally heard what had happened, they were all shocked. Tim and his co-workers rented a car and drove back to Chicago.

I'm thankful that I knew where my family was that day. And most of all, I'm thankful for everything I have now. Thank you to all of those who fight every day for our freedom.

BIG NEWS!

I have decided to go back to school. With the hubby's and munchkin's support, I will be getting my Master's in Language and Rhetoric through SDSU.

I did my research and the place I work will pay for 100% of my tuition and fees provided I can get an A or a B in the classes. I'm sure that I can accomplish that. I'll be taking six credits a semester, starting in the Spring Semester.

What prompted all this? I got to thinking about it the other morning and decided that of all the classes I had taken in college, one that I had taken with John Taylor was one of the few that I would like to go back and take again. I found out that he was offering it as an evening class. Everything just seemed to fall together. Now it's just a matter of getting admitted to the program and making it all work financially. I don't see either of these as real stumbling blocks. I am so excited. The hubby is very proud of me. My family is so supportive.

I'll have to write a thesis at the end of it. I'll admit, that does scare me. But I have some time to think about it and get my ducks in a row. I can't imagine that this will be anything but good for me.

Total word nerd

I went to the library the other day and was seduced by a book called How Language Works by David Crystal. The first portion of the book deals with how the body and mouth are used to produce speech. The part that I've gotten into now is more interesting. Here's a piece that really made me stop and think:

"In one study, acoustically distored words were presented to listeners both in isolation and in context. The context helped the listeners to identify words much more accurately. In another study, single words were cut out of a tape recording of clear, intelligible, continuous speech. When these were played to listeners, there was great difficulty in making a correct identification. Normal speech proves to be so rapidly and infomally articulated that in fact over half the words cannot be recognized in isolation - and yet we have little trouble following it, and can repeat whole sentences accurately."

It amazes me that the mid can hear things that aren't there. It just goes to show that context is so important. The book goes on to say:

"Another feature of continuous speech perception is that we 'hear' sounds to be present, even if they are not. In one experiment, sentences were recorded with a sound electronically removed, and replaced with a cough or buzz. Most listeners, when asked if there were any sounds missing, said no; and even if told that a substitution had been made, most were unable to locate it. In another study, people listened to one of four sentences, in which a sound (marked *) had been replaced by a cough, and were asked to identify a word which ended in eel.

It was found that the *eel was on the axle.
It was found that the *eel was on the shoe.
It was found that the *eel was on the orange.
It was found that the *eel was on the table.

People responded with wheel, heel, peel, and meal respectively, demonstrating the influence of grammar and meaning in perceptual decision-making."

I find this all so interesting. This is from the book that prompted the idea of going back to school. Now you see how interesting language is to me. Or maybe you don't. Maybe you're sitting there with eyes glazed over and drool running out of your mouth.

Rough couple of days

Munchkin's been sick and uncomfortable. I hate it when she's like that. I hate that there's nothing I can do to help her. I'm not going to bore you with the details. If you really want to know, I'll tell you. Suffice it to say, it's not polite dinner conversation.

Other than that, we had a good time at Sue's. Not nearly enough time to see and talk to everyone, but we'll take it where we can get it. It was so good to see her and talk to her again. I was pleased that we were able to get together.

I finished The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets. What a wonderful book. I highly recommend it. I plan on reading other books by the same author when I get the chance. I went to the library today. It was my half hour of sanity after dealing with the munchkin and being forced to watch Noggin all day long. I got several interesting books that I can't wait to dive into. I figured it out and I've read six books in less than 4 weeks. That's crazy. But it's been wonderful. I can't wait to keep reading like this. The one I've picked for my next book is non-fiction. I don't read non-fiction a lot, so I may not stay with it. But the back says, "The book will prove, to language geeks, invaluable." I think I'm pretty much a language geek. It also claims that the book "abounds in wisdom and dry wit". Can't wait to get started. I think I'll go and do just that!

Tired Munchkin

What a weekend it's been so far. The munchkin is testing us. She wants to be in charge and I feel she's too young for that. This afternoon we are headed out to Sue's to spend some time with her and Chuck, Pam, Micala, Mel, and Vee. I've put her down for a nap, and right now she's in her room throwing everything out of her crib. She does not want to take a nap. But if she doesn't, I'll have to take the pack and play with me so that she can nap out there.

Yesterday she tried my patience by throwing fits all day. I know that she's teething and that her mouth hurts, but good night nurse! It was ridiculous. It took all day to calm her down. I couldn't even go to the grocery store with her. I had to drop her at home to be with the hubby. I did get the shopping done in record time though. All I wanted was to get home and rest.

Today has been uneventful. Laundry, making deviled eggs, resting, fighting with the munchkin, preparing for this afternoon. You know, the standard stuff. I keep hoping that she'll stop screaming and fall asleep. Currently, there's silence. Here's to hoping!