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!