We're home

Thank goodness! Last night we got sprung from the hospital. We didnt warn Jake that we were coming with Sean to get him, so when he saw us he was excited. I put the baby down and he almost ran to Jake and threw his arms around him. It was SOOO cute and sweet. They really did miss eachother. I'd walk down the halls with Sean and he'd look into rooms saying "Jakey" like he was looking for him. Poor little guy, he really didnt understand why his brother was missing! But, we're out and only have to do steroids a couple times a day for a couple days plus breathing treaments 4 times a day.


I didn't really take many pics but here are a couple.

Sean in ICU on Sunday:










Getting a breathing treatment on Monday:










I also got the email from Penney's with the boy's pictures. Here are a few:

Jake & Sean together:













My favorite of Seans:













The littlest angel (to go with the one of Jake with Angel wings):












And finally, Sean wearing the cowboy outfit that was Travis', then Jason wore it, then Jake:












And for a yarn-related update... I am about 3/4 done with Mom's second sock - I got SO much done in the hospital! Also, I worked more on the jacket at lunch today. I joined the 2 fronts to the back and started on a sleeve. It's going well, I really do like it.

Well, that's really it for now. Have a great day!

A Quick Update

I have not fallen off the face of the earth, just been living in the pediatric ward of the hospital. Saturday Sean got admitted for Acute Asthma & Bronchitis attack with a slight pneumonia. He's still there. I've been coming home while Travis is up there for a few hours each day to take a nap (where I'm headed now). I have gotten Mom's other birthday sock almost done though! Anyway, thats it for now.

I've only been marginally keeping up with Bloglines, but Kim I'm keeping you in my thoughts and prayers!

Hopefully we'll get sprung tonight, but I'm not sure yet.

Some updates

I beat the damn yarn! It is nice and caked up into 3 cakes that I refused to take a picture of. They are in time-out in the yarn storage area. They may come out later to be sold, but that will be only after they have learned their lesson!

I finished the mini-version of the felted basket. It came out very cute, even with hand felting and would look even cuter after a spin in the wash.

I also started on seekrit jacket 2.0. I started this a while back and got frustrated trying to figure out if I could felt part of it and attach it to another non-felted yarn. Now, I'm using wool-ease to get the wool effect without the felting. I like how it's coming out so far, but I just started last night so it's not very far.

I have not worked on either sock or the afghan. I did, however, buy the dye for Mom's Christmas sweater... the yarn should arrive this week!

Um, we went Saturday (even Travis) to visit my folks and grandparents. Then to the Indian Rocks Beach Winterfest - which is a little outdoor festival. Craft booths with people selling their hard work for WAY too little, firemen selling beer, bouncy house, etc. It was a nice time and I did buy a toy thing for the cat which he has hidden somewhere.

Sunday I went with my MIL to get the boys' pics taken. I should have them in email form in a week so I will share them.

That's really it for now. OOOOHHHHH - for anyone that watches All My Children - I was very saddened to see Jamie leave the show because he's my favorite guy and SO easy on the eyes. So sad. However.... I looked on the COVER of my tv guide and there he was - he's Knight Rider!!! I watched the 2 hour premier last night even though I should have gone to bed half way through it. I liked it, Travis hated it (something about 3 different types of helocopters used in this one scene). I'm sure it will be gone soon if I like it. But yay! That is all.

Sit down, take a deep breath...

My ball 'o yarn is 2.5 inches in diameter. There is a LOT less of that then the mess that follows. Welcome to day 5 of the "Great Untangling of 2008". Course it is only February, there could be other "Gret Untanglings" yet to come. Sigh.

Need a recipe?

I got one! I wont get to try this until after I get to the store next, but it sounds SOOOO good that I had to share. AND, each serving is only 6 points!

Brushetta Chicken Bake (serves 6)
Preheat oven to 400.

Ingredients:
1 can Italian Stewed tomatoes (UNdrained)
1 pk stove top stuffing
1/2 C water
2 cloves garlic minced
1 1/2 lbs chicken breast chopped
1 tbs dried basil
1 C Shredded Mozzarella cheese (part-skim for that points count)

In a bowl, mix togther the tomatoes w/juice, stuffing mix, water & garlic and let sit. Place chicken in 13x9 pan and sprinkle with basil and cheese. Top with the stuffing mix and bake 30 minutes.


I LOVE brushetta and to see it as a meal is exciting to me. Of course this coming from the girl on day 4 untangling yarn because she's a dumbass, but still! And since I've been untangling I have not been knitting or crocheting. Thats a good thing cause my fingers have been hurting, but soon my friends (I hope). I have managed to creat 1 - 2oz yarn cake and the other 4 ounces are seperated in to 2 piles and a ball (all attached to eachother). I am working 1 pile into the ball, and once that pile is done I will finish with the rest and then wind it into cakes.

In a brighter note, I ordered the yarn for Mom's sweater. I need to go and get dye, but I can get that at Joanns. I also need to figure out a better way of not being a dumbass when it comes to winding the yarn. Because let me tell you, if I have to deal with THIS mess again I may have to tearfully BUY Mom a sweater for Christmas. I also bought one extra skein (just in case) and once the sweater is made I may make some socks! These socks. Not to say that I'll forget about Cliffy's afghan or the Other Socks either. I've still got, um, 10 months until Christmas, there's time for it all!

A Big Ole Mess!

Ok, first some updates. Apparently I forgot to tell you guys the part where my boss almost chopped off his finger in Ocala setting up an RV show. That was Wednesday, and he was banging a flagpole with this thing called a slammer. He broke the ring finger and nearly severed the pinky of his right hand (he's a lefty, thank goodness!). Anyway, he goes to the bone doc on Thursday (after the swelling goes down) to see if they will be able to save the finger but it is pink and has blood flowing to it so it looks good. No more pain meds, but he's a manly man anyway.

Also, Jovanni (although is a little sicky now) is doing much better since his surgery. He's such a fat little boy, and you'd never know he was sick! Our house is pretty much back to its non-sick self. And, Grandma is doing well.

Speaking of, yesterday the boys and I packed off to my Moms for a visit. My Grandfather brought my Grandma over from the nursing home and we had a nice dinner and a visit. It went well and we had a nice time. Here's a pic.










Backtracking a bit, here's Sean eating a chocolate covered cookie on Saturday. I think he enjoyed it:









On to my mess. I had some laceweight undyed yarn in my stash and some dye. I wanted to experiment to make sure that I could do the slight variations in the yarn like I wanted for Mom' Christmas Sweater. Here's what I did:








I think it turned out perfect! However, because I'm a dumbass, I untied the shoelace that was holding this mass of pretty string in some kind of order, just so I could take that picture. The mass got moved before I retied the shoelace. I've spent the sum total of about 4 hours trying to wind this 1200 yards of yarn and I've done maybe 1/3 of it. I'm not happy. Dumbass dumbass dumbass. It is pretty though!

In project news, I started the second skinny sock. I've only done about 1/4 of the leg while I was waiting on the laceweight to dry from its washing. UGH. I really need to get a swift. Sigh. Oh well, back to untangling. I am purposly not showing you a picture of the mess,for fear of shock-induced trama for which I do not want to be held accountable.

Move along, nothing to see here.

Blue sock done

I finished up blue sock #1:










I also did a bit of math (!). The sweater I want to make Mom for Christmas needs about 1600 yards of sock yarn, it calls for Cherry Tree Hill which is beautiful, makes slight variations in color and apprently knits well. It is also $20 for 400 yards making this an $80 sweater. Yes I love my Mom, I even love her $80 worth, but $80 for just the yarn part PLUS knitting a Sweater with SOCK yarn? Maybe not-so-much. She agrees. My solution? Dye My Own. I dont know if I can get it nearly as beautiful as Cherry Tree Hill, but at $5.99 for400 yards making this a $23 sweater - thats much more managable. Becides, dyeing is fun!

I have the undyed yarn in my shopping basket at knitpick waiting. I am still trying to decide if that is what I want to do. I'd hate to buy it and screw it up, ya know!

We really dont have much going on, Travis has ot tomorrow night, so we'll hang out with him during the day, maybe find something fun to do. Then Sunday the kids and I will go to my mom's when he goes to work. My Mom requested more fun with the Dyson, and I think Damarys wants dibs next!

Hopefully I'll get some knitting done on either of the second socks, the afghan or the basket, or all of the above!!

A Tisket, A Tasket...

The answer is yes, you should do a mock-up before diving headfirst into a project. And thats what I did. I made a tiny little basket 1/3 the size of what I want the end to be, just to test the theory. Yep, I think it's gonna work! I've finished the knitting, and hand-felted it in the sink. I want it to be a little firmer felted so I will give it a go in the washer tonight. But yeah, I like how its come out. The design makes sense, I like the garter stitch because its given it some extra bulk, and it's easy. Yay! Anyway, at lunch in a bit I will work on the bigger one a little bit. I'd show you a picture but then I'd have to kill ya, and that'd be no fun!


I also brought the blue sock, which will hopefully get some knitting on it during Jake's dentist appt this afternoon. Once these are done I'll do the other sock to Mom's pair, then the other blue sock.

OOOOH, and I found Mom's Christmas Sweater!!!!! Yesterday I got the Interweave Knits magazine and it's right in there!!! (It's called I heart cardis). Damarys agrees, it's cute! Now I need to find Cherry Tree Hill yarn.

That's it for now. Hopefully Jake's appt will go well and there won't be screaming involved. I'll leave you with a pic of Sean playing with the toy Grandma & Pop Pop gave him for Christmas the best way he knows how:

Ugh!

I had very good intentions of blogging yesterday, really! But, when Sean's daycare called at 9:30 that he had a 101.3 fever, I had to go. I took him to the doc and got him meds for an ear infection. Im pretty sure it's completly tooth-induced. My MIL said that whenever my BIL got a tooth in he'd get a runny nose and an ear infection. That seems to be true for Sean too. Poor little guy. But, hopefully he'll get to feeling better, and I wont get another phone call from daycare today.

Sean is not the one sick... yep, me too. Stuffy nose, gack in my throat, blah. Oh well, what can you do.

On to knitting. I'm about half done with the foot part of the blue sock. I really like i, and I'm not sure if I will give them up. Maybe they will go to Damarys for Christmas or her birthda in March. We'll see.

I have done a little more on Cliffy's blanket, but not much.

I started working on a felted basket design that I've had in my head for a while. I'm about a quarter done with it so far - not too far. I wonder if should have made a prototype size first to see if the theory will work? Whoops! Wish me luck!

A pig, with a side of sock.

Today's blog post is dedicated to Linda (prounced LEENda by me). Linda has been our temp at the office since the fall, and she has been great. I think all of us tried to lobby for her to stay, but the boss couldnt be budged. But, he did say she could come back next year!! Anyway, today is her last day. And while I dont like that she choose Beefs for her going away luncheon because their selection of WW-approved meals include water and nothing, I will miss her dearly.

And, in honor of this auspicious occasion I decided to knit her a pig. Why a pig? 3 reasons. Linda grew up on a pig farm. Linda and her hubby are "BBQers" (with special rub and everything... go get you some Here )with a fondness for, um, pig. And finally, yesterday when the pattern popped itself in the calendar on my desk she thought it was really cute. For those that have said calendar, I didnt have time to make the pigets but I really wanted to. For those that dont have the calendar - it's perfect JUST THE WAY IT IS!! Travis said I should have knit a little bitty bottle of BBQ sauce too, but if I didnt have time to make the piglets that were supposed to be there, no way could I do a bottle that wasnt! Here's a lookie.

Linda with her pig:










The pig on her own:









Now I know that I have um, SomethingLike 4, or 5 WIP's, and I was DILLIGENTLY working on them - I swear! But I like her, and the pig is cute, and blah blah. It only took me 2 and a half hours - not too shabby. And SOOO cute. Anyway, moving on.

I also finished my short-row heel. It's a pain in the arse, but in the end it worked out well, I think.









This weekend - Birthday party tomorrow, Superbowl on Sunday. I'm sure I'll get some knitting done. I've started feeling pretty craptastic the past couple days - wish me luck!

The big day

Yesterday was a big day for me. I hit the pre-Jake weight, which is the biggest I've been. And after 3 pairs of pants that I couldnt fit into, I started thinking about crazydiet. And yes, crazydiet worked well but I wasn't looking forward to 11 more days of eating lunchmeat twice a day. And although I dont fault crazydiet for my re-gaining-and-the-some predicament (that I blame on my own lack of self-restraint and christmas candy)(damn buckeyes!) I will learn from the mistakes of those that have gone before me and try to eat more sensibly.

And to that end, yesterday I signed up for Weight Watchers online. No meetings, but instead, a cyber-support system. Easy points tracking and all sorts of goodies like exercise demos and recipe creators, and more. We'll see how it works out. Wish me luck!

I did zero on the blanket yesterday (too busy last night playing on the WW website), but I did rip out the few heel flap rows I had done and started on a short-row heel (from the "sock to come" from the last post). I think I sorta have it down, we'll see.

Sean is a Mr Cranky pants the last couple days, he's getting in his 2 eyeteeth at the same time. Not a happy baby. And Jake decided to come down with an Asthma issue 2 nights ago, and we're still dealing with that. Not fun, I tell ya! Well, thats really it for now. Hopefully I'll have more to report tomorrow.

A sock, another sock and makin money?

Hi there, how are you today? I'm doing ok. We had a nice weekend - which included the Taylor Swift concert and a visit to Grandma at the nursing home.

Here's our view from the Gallery of the Performing Arts Center:








And our view of Taylor from our seats:









As for Grandma, she is doing well and seems to like the home she's in. They have activities for her and she's been doing a lot of coloring!

I finished the SuperShow sock - an even though it doesnt look like it could fit an actual human - it fits me! So it will fit Mom just fine. Isn't it beeUteeFul:









And then in the calendar for today I found these. It's like a vicious, never ending cycle. These will NOT be next since I WILL finish the other SuperShow sock and the blue sock, but they will be after that - unless I find a nice solid sock yarn NO NO NO... They will not be next! But maybe a nice baby blue, or NONONONONO!








It's like crack, I swear! Moving on.

Please notice the new clicky links over ---->. I have started whoring out the blog for monetary gain. I've checked out these 4 e-books and they seem pretty good. I especially like the knitting and crochet one since you get a free mini-course. And I am SOOO going to get the wheel - It would be so much better for the computer to dole out some pre-determined punishments than me always trying to figure them out! Anyway, there they are. And you can make money on your OWN blog by clicking on Get Your Own! Hey, cant hurt, right? ANd I've got to earn the sock yarn money somehow!

Not another knitting update

Last night the kids and I (Travis was working) went to Pizza Hut to use Jake's reading "Free Pizza" certificate. That was fun, and the pizza was good. I had mentioned that we need to take Sean to get his hair cut since it's getting in his eyes, Jake thought it was a good idea, too. The first place we tried was closed but the 2nd was open, and the lady was so nice. Here's some pics!

Before:









During:









After:








This morning (It's a nice pic if you squint!):








That's it for now. Have a great day!

Project list

Here you are, an actual post about yarn!!! Here's an update of what I have on the needles currently.

Cliff's afghan. I am on track to have it done by Christmas :).:










SuperShow Socks:









Blue socks: no picture update, I forgot to get one. The do come out every once in a while to have a round or 2 done but not often.

Brown sweater - not much progress, and I'm not in love with it so it will dwindle for a while:










That's it for now. More updating on everything else tomorrow!

Some videos & updates

As promised, here are the rest of the birthday cake videos and Mr. Stinkypants himself playing with his "new" toy. And at the end, an update on Grandma, Jovanni and yarn.








Grandma was in the hospital for a few days then headed for her new home. She looked really good and seemed in high spirits which is great. We were thrilled that she wanted to be placed in a nursing home, and this will give her a good opportunity to play bingo, have a manicure, make new friends and most importantly have nursing care round the clock. She has a roommate Cathy who just turned 97(!) and hopefully it will be nice for them to have each other to talk to. The staff is very nice and the facility itself is nice. I had to hold back tears though, not for Grandma but for some of the other residents that seemed to be alone. I hope I can figure out a way that I can visit often, and maybe adopt some of the senior orphans. Overzealous? Perhaps but isn't volunteering on my resolution list? I really should write that down somewhere becides this here blog, eh? AND, for my family - Grandma is requesting pics of each of the families. Please either send one to her or email me a jpg and I will get it printed up.

Jovanni went into the hospital last Monday to get ready for his surery. He had his surgery on Wedneday and it went well except he seemed to be in a lot of pain when he wasnt sleeping Poor little guy. They had to give him some blood because he was losing some after the surgery, and he is doing better now. I'm not sure how long he'll be in there but please remember to keep him in your prayers.

And finally - a yarn update! I brought the SuperShow sock with me today to work on at lunch, and I will take a pic of it. I turned the heel and am about to pick up the gusset so I'm about halfway done with it. I also worked on Cliffy's blanket some yesterday and it's about 18" square. I forgot to take a picture of it, but I'll try to remember tonight.

I suppose I should stop and try to find my desk. It's a little scary in here so wish me luck.

I have survived.

Today is Sunday and my day off. Wanna guess what I'll be doing? C'mon, take a guess. Going to the RV show. Yep. Just cant stay away! EEEEw, I think somebody is stinky... brb. Alrighty... not pleasant. Anyway - moving on.
I had thought my Mom was going to meet me yesterday at the show but because we had some weather she wasn't able to. Good thing too because her "weather" was some fog and mist but by the time I left I was dripping wet from helping people out to their car in a golf cart before the nasty weather came. We had tornado watches and severe thunder storm warnings. I was out on the golf cart for about an hour and from 5 -5:45 it was fine and starting to mist a bit. By 6 it was torrential downpour and no amount of roof on my golf cart was going to save me. I had to go home and change every stitch of clothing before I went to get the kids. By the time I went to bed 3 hours later my hair was still damp. WET WET. But, some guy gave me a tip - that was funny. Sweet, and I did try to give it back but he wouldn't take it. So, since they didn't come out yesterday I asked if they wanted to come out today - when it's not rainy but nice and cool - perfect day for an outside/inside show.

I bought my niece her birthday present, I need to get it mailed out to her. I don't think she reads this but I wont mention it just in case. I also had some deep fried oreos. I did manage to give 1 away but was stuck eating the other 5 myself. Such a shame. But SOOO good.

Sean is almost a walker. He's taking 4-5 steps at a time, but only when he's aiming for something. He'll go from the table to the couch, the table to me, the couch to Mamaw but not from the table to nothing. And, he's found this "Slammer" from 100 years ago (you know, the little ball things that you throw on the ground and they say stuff) it says "OH NO" and "Help Me Help Me". He Loves it! He's also been saying "Hi". toooo cute. I will try to take some video from him walking. Oh, speaking of video, here is part 3 of his birthday cake video. When I get back to the office on Monday I'll finish uploading it to utube which takes forFREAKINever.



How about a knitting update? I started another sock. I wanted something to work on while at the show and the other sock is complicated (except that I didn't remember until just now that I'm on the round and round knitting part and not the leg - whoops) and Cliffs blanket is too big. The new sock is cute, made from Sockotta, and it will have its picture taken later, after I retrieve it from the show office where it spent the night instead of going out in the rain. It's in grey/blue/purples and the is a mock-cable rib. Oh, oh, and speaking of Cliff's blanket... guess what I got! Addi Turbos (40") long! I also got a 16" in another size for a ha pattern I saw that's kind of lacy and pretty. They came from Hong Kong via Ebay and I got them pretty reasonably. Soo. Excited!

I guess that's it for now. More pics and video tomorrow. Have a great Sunday.

Sean has spots

I think the baby is allergic to fish sticks because the morning after his birthday when he had fish sticks... he had spots. not a lot but I gave him the tiniest tad of benadryl to help knock it out.. it made him sleepy but did nothing for the spots. I tried again last night with the benadryl and while I enjoyed sleeping that many hours in a row (I think it was about 7!) he was even spottier than when he went to bed. The advice I got was to try aveeno in his bathwater, so we'll see how that works out tonight.

Wish us luck - he seems miserable.

I am exhausted - how many more days until I get a day off? Ugh.

Sean's Brthday Party

We had Sean's birthday party on Saturday and it was very small and lots of fun. I made tacos - his favorite - and the cake that Travis and Jake made came out pretty good. I have some pics to post now, and some video, but because youtube takes forfreakinever I will need to post the rest of the video later, since I DO need to head out to the fairgrounds.

Sean's cake:









Blowing out candles:









Eating cake #1:






Eating cake #2:






The end result:










I'll try to get the rest of these videos uploaded for your viewing pleasure soon.
Tomorrow is his big day - but, Travis has work late, I have to be at the fairgrounds during the day so I cant take off, and Papaw is out of town so it will be dinner with just me, Jake, Mamaw & Sean. And very soon we'll take him to get his little hair cut - his bangs are always in his eyes!

Well thats it from me for a couple weeks - have some good times for me!

Sometimes I'm not too bright.

So remember yesterday, when I'm sure you were crying in your Cheerios that I'd be blogless for the next couple weeks - well... not so much. I don't have to be out at he fairgrounds until NEXT Monday. Whoopsy! Anyway,I don't have any new pictures, and I didn't get to work much on Cliffy's afghan, but have decided to add a little pink - just for effect!

New Years Resolutions. Did you make any? I am - let's see...

1) lose weight - I'll start on crazydiet again once SuperShow is over, which will be pretty easy since Travis will be working nights and wont be bothered by my lunch-meat and peanut filled dinners. I hate that I gained the weight back but it is SO my own fault (not the diet's) because I just cannot keep my hands out of the candy box. Love you Christmas but hate the effects.

2) get my home in order - I have been on a purge lately, and that will need to continue because we just. have. too. much. stuff. I am planning a yard sale in the spring, and have already begun setting stuff aside (baby stuff, Christmas stuff, crafty stuff) to go in said sale. For Christmas I got some more bins for the yarn area, and I plan to use them. I still have so much yarn still in bags in the closet, and while I have plans for a good bit of it - it's not all sorted. I also have the yarn that I got from my folks but most of that will be going into Cliff's afghan. I haven't really worked with this "vintage" acrylic, I am hoping it all washes up nice. But, I think he'll be excited about it even if it is a little scratchy!

3) Get the kids rooms in order - Sean's is pretty OK but I need to find a home for his toy box which is currently living in the dining room. I know where I want to put it but there is a mini-bookshelf there that is holding a couple toys, some books and his shoes. Probably not the best use of the space, but that's it. I also need to get 2 of the 3 bins of clothes (from Jake) up in the attic since they don't fit anymore. I had been trying to keep 1 bin at a time to put stuff in as they don't fit anymore, but that was 2 bins ago. Jake's room is a mess. He is trying to learn to keep his dresser drawers organized (and by organized I mean "able to be shut"), and he is also learning to hang his own clothes. It ain't pretty, but that is his chore. I thought I had a pretty good system in his closet of shirts on the top bar and pants on the bottom, but that would only really work if he were a couple feet taller. And since that wont be happening overnight, maybe I'll put school clothes on the bottom (since he wears them more often) and weekend clothes on top. I also need to weed through some of his stuff to make room for the Christmas explosion.

4) Cook more real food, and keep a monthly or weekly menu - Sometimes I get really good at keeping the monthly menu, then it slides. Right now is a slide, as witnessed by the calendar on the fridge marked "March" (but it's not as bad as that since I used a paper calendar for April... but that's still bad!). This will be more helpful when the rat starts cooperating and lets me have my husband in the evenings. However, I can still cook supper for the family and save his for when he gets home, but I really don't want to promote his dinner-eating that late. I just ordered a couple Semi-Homemade cookbooks which I think will be helpful to me, since time is against me and I really like some of the dishes Sandra Lee comes up with. Speaking of #2, I should probably go through the 90billion cookbooks to make room for the 2 that are coming I have some that I have never used and probably wont. Anyone want a signed copy of Emeril's Life's A Party? Guess I could ebay it. Anyway, moving on.

5) Go to church more regularly & volunteer - I had stopped going for many many months after Sean was born, but did start going again a few months ago. It feels good to go, but I do have guilt about not really getting involved much. It felt so good to help out with the angel tree presents - I felt like I really made a difference. We haven't been involved in a church group in a few years, and I don't think we'd be able to since his schedule is so wonky. But maybe I can volunteer at a soup kitchen like my mom does or something like that once a month.

6) Manage money better - I got a huge raise this year but I don't feel like it's made a difference... mainly because daycare cost for Sean is so high. And while that will be going down a little soon (once he is a "toddler" and is able to eat table food), we need to be more frugal. Starting with not going out to eat as much (see #4). I find that if I don't have anything planned for dinner it is just easier to go somewhere than figure something out. When I had the menu up I could look at it in the morning and get out whatever meat I needed and it would be ready to cook when I got home. I don't have many meals that I make that don't require defrost time - and the ones I do aren't all that great. That's what I need, a cookbook of stuff I can cook without the need of defrosting. Our biggest fallback is chicken nuggets, mac & cheese and corn on the cob or tuna mac. Not great choices to help with #1, but easy and no defrosting required. I would hate to admit how many times in a month we eat that. It's sad really. Anyway, and while eating out is our biggest pitfall, I am sure there are others. I am looking for ways to conserve energy at the house - I bought the light bulbs and am having Travis convert the 3-way lamps to take them. Conserving energy saves on the electric bill.

6 resolutions. That's really not so bad. Resolutions that I want to keep, and really should keep. Wish me luck!

Just a quickie...

I wanted to post an update to the log cabin afghan:









And also, Sean's daycare sent over a pic from their Christmas party that I thought was really adorable and I had to share:










And finally, starting on Monday I will not be in the office and therfore my blogtime will be greatly diminished, and my photos will be non-existant (non-exitent? whatever.) because the cord thing lives here. I will be back on the 22nd - love the ot but will miss the blog. I just pray that I am able to keep up with the bloglines from home. Well, that's it. Have a good one!

Happy New Year, some knitting and He Likes Cheese!

Happy New Year kiddos! I hope yours is full of life and love and all that. Did you stay up? Did you watch the ball drop? We didnt make it past 10:30. Sad really. Sean slept through the night, which was great. Jake woke up twice, which was not. Last night Jake slept through and Sean only got up once so all in all it was good.

We spent New Years day with my in-laws, and guess what Sean did? He took a step! Yep, from the couch to the coffee table. I know it was a real step and not a lean because he was not able to make the return trip without falling. I did not, however, manage to get a picture of this monumentous occasion, and I will make up for it by showing you this:











That would be Sean digging in his new toy box which I had to buy (Love you Once Upon A Child) to fit his new toys. (Please ignore my window's lack of curtains... they were in the wash. They're back up now, so no worries.) He really likes his new toys, especially the ones at the very very bottom that are sometimes hard to get at and still have your feet on the ground!

I started my firs Christmas project for next year - er this year! I am using the yarn that I got from my Mom's yard-saling (which Cliff made fun of) to make him an afghan. The irony amuses me. Anyway, for Christmas Mom gave me a Michaels gift card and one of the things I bought was the Mason Dixon knitting book, which I have been wanting for some time now but have not managed to get it yet. In said book is a pattern for a knitted Log Cabin quilt afghan. Made in many many different colors, and still looking swell, I thought this would be just the thing! Course it's ancient acrylic and I had forgotten how weird it feels to crochet with but hey, it's working. Wanna see? This was as of this morning. Since this was taken, I've finished the dark green I was working on and am halfway through the next block of primary blue. The colors are a little wonky, but they are pretty close to the same ones they used in the book and it looks fine in the book.










And finally, proof that he's mine. As you know, Sean (and Jake too) were made from cheese. I consumed MASS amounts of cheese - mac n cheese, cheese quesadillas, tacos, queso dip, etc - during my pregnancy. So much so that everyone was slightly suprised to see him come out not orange. Anyway, this weekend I introduced Sean to these lovely little cubes of wonderfullness. He was quite impressed.










He's getting so big, it's so hard to believe that he's almost one. Speaking of, guess who will be making his birthday cake? Nope, not me.... Travis and Jake will be making it. Should be interesting. I am having them make it on Friday so I have some Just-In-Case time (shh). Anyway, thats it for now, have a great day!

Merry Christmas.

Did you have nice Christmas? Was Santa good to you? Here's our Christmas at a glance:

Before Santa came to my in-laws house:









Sean getting the hang of this opening thing:









Jake got a guitar from Mommy & Daddy:









And Uncle Jason confisgated it but Jake got to play a little:








Jake and I had to finish up the cookies that Santa left behind. Such a trecherous job... but somebody's got to do it!









Sean stood up and held onto my Grandparent's ottoman, and when it got moved, he stayed standing up - for like 10 seconds! We were thrilled but I just sat there and stared at him. Cliff tried to recreate the scene. It didnt work, he ended up on his butt:














Mom's jacket was a little big but she liked it anyway:








Today finds Jake just fine and playing at his grandparents house, Sean with a yeast infection diaper rash and a head cold, Me and Travis both with a really bad sore throat. Joy to the World. Sean will be 1 in a couple weeks - perhaps we will be better by then? Sigh.

A Crocheter's Night Before Christmas

As I do every year, I want to share this with you:

'Twas the night before Christmas and all around me
There was unfinished crocheting not under the tree,
The stockings weren't hung by the chimney with care
'Cause the heels and the toes had not a stitch there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
But I had not finished the caps for their heads.
Dad was asleep---he was no help at all.
And the sweater for him was 6" too small.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I put down my hook to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash.
Tripped over my yarn and fell down in my stash.

The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow
Reminded me how far I still had to go.
When out on the lawn I heard such a noise,
I was sure it would wake up both Dad and the boys.

And although I was tired--my brain a bit thick,
I knew in a moment that it must be St Nick.
Yet what I heard left me very perplex-ed
For nothing I heard was what I expect-ed.

"Move Rowan! Move Patons! Move Koigu and Clover!
Move Shelridge! Move Starmore! Move Spinrite! Move over!
Lopi, don't circle around, just stand there in line.
Pay attention you sheep and you'll work out just fine!
I know this is hard as it's just your first year
But I'd hate to go back to 8 tiny reindeer."

I peered over the sill. What I saw was amazing:
Eight wooly sheep on my lawn all a-grazing!
And then in a twinkle, I heard at the door
Santa's big boots stomping on the porch floor.


I rose from my knees and got back on my feet.
As I turned around, St Nick I did meet.
He was dressed all in wool from his head to his toe
And his clothes were hand crochet from above to below.

A bright Fair Isle sweater he wore on his back.
And his toys were all stuffed in an Aran crochet sack.
His hat was a wonder of bobbles and lace
A beautiful frame for his rosy red face.

The scarf on his neck could have stretched for a mile,
And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.
On the back of his mitts was an intricate cable.
And suddenly on one I spotted a small label:
"S.C." in duplicate on the cuff.
So I asked, "Hey, Nick, did YOU crochet all this stuff?"
He proudly replied, "Ho, ho, ho, yes I did.
I learned how to crochet when I was just a kid."

He was chubby and plump, a well dressed old man,
And I laughed to myself, for I'd thought up a plan.
I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,
And the next thing he knew, he was tied to a chair.

He spoke not a word, but looked down in his lap
Where I had laid my crochet hook and yarn for a cap.
He began then to crochet, first one cap then 2--
For the first time I thought I might really get through.

He put heels in the stockings and toes in some socks,
While I sat back drinking a scotch on the rocks.
Quickly like magic his hooks they flew,
Good Grief! He was finished by two!

He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,
And over his shoulder he looked back at me.
I heard him explain as he sailed past the moon,
"Next year, start your crocheting sometime around JUNE

In my next 10 years...

Yesterday, Travis and I celebrated (well, acknowledged) our 10 year dating anniversary. It seems like just yesterday but then also like I've known him forever - I bet everyone says that! Anyway, we had pork chops and rice the did a fire out back and I crocheted and watched Clash of the Choirs.

Speaking of crocheting - I have about half a round to go on this baby blanket but I am running out of yarn. I haven't checked to see if I have more of the blue, I'll do that tonight. I had wanted to get it mailed out today - Whoops! It'll go out on Monday, or Wednesday... not sure about work yet. Have I told you lately that I really love the star baby blankets? This one is in 3 shades - white/white, white/blue, blue/blue. 7 rounds of each shade, 21 rounds in all. I had thought about doing an attached Icord border because I think that would look swell... but my lack of yarn may put a hamper on that idea - unless I have to bring myself to go get another skein. I did good since I had a most of a skein of blue and white and bought one of each more when I started. I guess it does make sense that I would need to get another blue, huh? Urg.

Um, updates... everyone that was in the hospital is out and doing ok. Sean will not sleep through the night an did not like the water instead of formula trick that Mommy tried to pull - NoSirEE! Hey, it was a thought.

Jake is getting a little jealous - wanting to play with everything that Sean is playing with. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?

That's it from me for now. We're about to have our office luncheon...catered by Olive Garden... yummo. Merry Christmas everybody, be safe and warm and happy.

How many more days?

6. That's it. 6 more days to finish your shopping/crocheting/knittng/baking. Is that enough? I'm done with everything except 1 package mailing, 1 cake a-baking, 8 presents wrapping... and 3 pictures in a frame. No more crocheting/knitting/shopping, and I didn't bake at all. I am enjoying more than my share of the 97,000 tons of sweets in our kitchen here at work. No, I am not kidding, there is a BUNCH of stuff. AND... this is not a complete look - some has been eaten and gone.












This includes, but is not limited to... A platter fro the Hockey people,










Chocolate, white chocolate and peanut butter dipped pringles. Never heard of these before but BOY are they addictive! They actually have both sides in the dip, but this one had sort of an accident and "lost" one of its sides. No worries - I found it safely and escorted it to my belly to join its siblings.








I am full of all manner of crap that's not good for me, and a lean cuisine that was not good at all - it was the grilled chicken bits in some sort of non-garlicy garlic sauce and a creamed spinach concoction that was pretty gross. NTS - dont get that one any more!

On a nicer note, Damarys and I exchanged our gifts yesterday and I got this:








And while I do actually have a head in the picture that was taken, it looks awful so you get the cropped version - sorry! She got a nice silver and black crock pot that matches her kitchen so she will quit borrowing mine! Clever, that!

I have gotten 2/3 of the baby blanket done for Nicci, and it should be done and in the mail in the next few days. Baby Nathan is due around Sean's birthday so I still have some time - assuming he's not anxious to make his arrival.

That's really all I have for now. Perhaps more tomorrow?

Updates... on Grandma, and knitting

Grandma is still in the hospital - and we still arent sure whats going on. We think she strained/pulled a muscle during a coughing fit, but some of the tests have come back a little odd so we're waiting to hear somthing more. Please keep her and the doctors in your prayers.

I am on the round and round bit of the foot of the 2nd fuzzy feet. I will be done this weekend with it and I am thrilled! When that's done, and I hibernate from knitting I will crochet a baby blanket for my friend Nicci, who is due around Sean's birthday. And crocheting is SO not knitting!

Sean will be 1 in 3 weeks, and I'm excited, but not looking forward to getting him off the bottle. He uses a sippy cup for juice, but still a bottle for formula. Last night I decided to give him formula in a sippy cup and he took a sip or 2 and threw it down while looking at me funny. Not the best outcome for the first try, but hey, what can you do.

In better Sean news - he can now say Mama, and I had spectators other than myself so I was really excited! About dern time!

This weekend will include the Disney Christmas party tomorrow night, angel kid presents to church on Sunday, and I said I'd help wrap any un-wrapped gifts. Monday I need to get the last of the Christmas gifts mailed out, I'm sure Nanny is wondering why all of my aunts/uncles/cousins have gotten Christmas cards but not her. Soon, Nanny, soon.

You all have a lovely weekend.

Zales Coupon

Is anyone planning on shopping at Zales.com soon? I have an e-certificate for $50 off of a $200 purchase if anyone wants it. Just let me know! It expires April 15, 2008.

I'll try to post a real post later on.

Sigh.

I finished Fuzzy Feet #3 at lunch today. 1 more to go for the amended Christmas knitting list. Yay! Then I'll try really hard to stop, or at least parlay it into finishing the blue and white sock that is seeping somewhere... the den maybe?

I also mailed off 1 of the 3 packages that will be going out - Sue, be on the look out for yours!

Last night I "wrapped" (love you pretty pre-printed gift boxes) gifts for 3 said packages, plus 2 for my angel kid and one for Jasyline and Mom's jacket. NTS: next year Mom wants a cardigan.

Tonight on the list will be making dinner, doing whites because some people insist on wearing white socks and clean underwear AND clean uniforms for Jake. Also on the list will be starting fuzzy feet #4 while watching Pushing Daisies. Please notice that I said watching, because I am getting better at my knitting and am able to *sporadically* watch and knit at the same time. Yay for progress.

Saturday night is the Disney Christmas party and I make that 3 days in which to get a dress. Perhaps tonight - post dinner, pre tee vee. We'll see.

And finally, Grandma is in the hospital with groin pain (and for those of you, who like me, arent med students, that is the top of the legs and not the bottom of the torso). Docs have ruled out a blood clot which is good, but still leaves questions. Please keep her in your prayers. Thank you. That is all.

Lotsa stuff (knitting at the end

Friday Sean was sick so I stayed home from work. Travis was home, and we ended up going to the big tent sale at Disney -can't beat 70% off cool stuff! We got a few gifts, and a thing or 2 for ourselves. Sean enjoyed it for the most part, but did get a little frustrated sitting in the buggy. Travis had turned to look at something and apparently Sean took that opportunity to get a better look around:












He's just so funny! We ate at Raglan Road, where I shared my shephards pie and he liked it!

Saturday was the Christmas tea, and here is what my table looked like (before the plates of goodies came):









I didnt win, but that's ok. It was fun, and we got to see the production of A Christmas Carol, which was great. After the tea we 8 (me, Trav, the boys, Jason & Stacy and the in-laws) packed into the Trail Blazer and headed to Magic Kingdom. It was a nice time, and the castle is beautiful with all the twinkle faerie lights. I'd show you but Travis took those pictures.

Sunday, Jake hung out with the grandparents and Sean and I headed over to my Mom's place to take pics for the Green Armada publicity campaign. They came out pretty good I think, and again since I took the pics with Travis' camera I dont have them here to share. I will as soon as I get them though. Cliff is working with Green Armada now as a captain, and they do great work in cleaning up our waterways. The pics that I took on Sunday were in downtown St Pete, right next to a theater - and boy was it disgusting! Hopefully they are able to raise some money and get companies to sponsor clean-ups. Of course they are always looking for volunteers to do the clean-ups too! It's good work.

I finished my MIL's slipper except for the felting, and I plan to do that tonight. I will make sure to get a picture of a before and after together which will show you just how much it shrinks up when I wash it. I have also started another pair (whoops!) since I had enough yarn leftover. The goal is to get it done by Christmas... wish me luck!

Christmas humor

I have gotten some accomplished on the slipper, I am on the round and round part, so thats good. I was working on chair covers for the Christmas tea at lunch, so I wasnt able to knit. Tonight we're putting stuff on the tree that has been in the dining room fo 2 days, so probably no knitting tonight. It twill be done tomorrow. I also started making my Christmas cards. Oh, dont get me wrong - most people will be getting the REALLY cute one I designed with the kids pics on them, but last year after Christmas I got a card making kit at Joanns for like 75% off, so it was $3 for 12 cards or some such thing. I'll give them to a select few, and everyone else gets to admire my adorable childrens.

I wanted to share this comic strip that lives on my desk (with 2 friends) and is appropriate for the season. It was first published in 1999, and I love it! Enjoy, and hopefully I'll have something more substantial to say tomorrow.

Not much going on

Hi there. How are you? I'm doing ok, just tired. I am wating for Sean to learn the value of a good nights sleep, and I pray it happens soon! Let's see, what's going on... Yesterday was Travis' birthday. He and his dad did the Richard Petty Experience where they got to be a passenger in a race car going very fast. They both had a grand time.

Travis hurt his foot taking the garbage out Sunday, split the nail on his big toe of his right food and some scrapes on the top of his foot. He wasnt happy. So, I guess it was a good thing he wasnt doing the driving at Richard Petty because owie foot + driving 150mph = BIGTIME owie.

Last week, as I think I told you, Jake had 2 red faces and got to take a trip to the principals office... thus not letting us go to Disney on Saturday. Yesterday, green face - so far so good! We threatened that for any non-green faces he receives, one of his Christmas presents will be donated to toys for tots. I'm not sure which of the following made him behave yesterday:

*Mommy or Daddy gets to eat the chocolate from the Advent Calendar
*Mamaw was very disappointed that we werent able to Disney
*No gameboy or picking what is on tv
*His presents going to toys for tots
*doing extra chores is not fun
*Going to bed early and not getting to stay up as late as Sean is not fun

Whos to say, but it's working, for yesterday anyway. Wish us luck.

I've gotten a little more done on the 2nd slipper, at lunch I should be able to do the heel turn and gusset, so tonight or tomorrow I should finish it. Yay!

That's all I've got. I hope all is well for all of you. Only 21 more knitting, er shopping days 'til Christmas.

Some progress...

Look.... hats! There is 1 to show you the detail, and 2 to show you the colors - one's gray and one's blue.


























I am pleased at how they turned out, and hopefully the boys will like them too.

As far as Christmas knitting and crocheting goes - I have 1 slipper left and I'm almost to the heel on that. And as far as Christmas in general goes - I have 1 slipper and 1 chocolate cake to go and I'm DONE! I think. Pretty sure anyway.

This weekend went ok I suppose. Saturday we were supposed to go to Disney but Jake got a red face and got sent to the principals office (!!!) for talking across the room to one of his little friends. Not Happy! So, we stayed home and cleaned the house and got it ready for Christmas decorations.

Yesterday He went to my MIL's to clean around there and do some errands. Sean and I went to my Moms to hang out and do some shopping. I had sent her to a garage sale I saw online that advertised yarn and craft items - and she went for me. I should have taken a picture, maybe I'll do that tonigt but $6 got a white garbage bag FULL plus a medium size box full of yarn. Mostly acrylic, some blends - all pretty old but that kind of yarn will be great for chrity work. A lot of blues, and quite a bit of the same of a few different ones, so that's nice. We hung out at her house crocheting (I've gotten her back into it) chatting then we went all over looking for a teapot for me. We didnt find a teapot, but she got 2 sheets, some gift items, chocolate covere cherries and cheese, I got some yarn (shh), gift items for my angel kid, chocolate covered cherries and some fruit roll ups. We went to the Dollar Tree and had a 10% off coupon! Then to celebrate our savings, we went to marble slab next door. Yummmmo. I tried that Michaels for hat sized needles (I need some 8 & 9 16") but only saw clover and I didnt have my coupon. And since I wouldnt pay $9 for a hat needle I left EMPTY HANDED!! I know, the shock! But, at the dollar store I scored about 6 skeins of blue incredible. I think I have a cute tank pattern for it. All in all, lots of fun.

One more pic then it's back to work for me: