T time

the life and times of Me

2011-08-15T19:51:00.000-07:00

We are slowly getting our stuff back, it sounds like tomorrow will be the big day. There will be bookcases and lots of other stuff I have been told. I am hoping for yarn, of course, and books.

In recent news Dot made a bold escape from the hotel room and remains at large, search parties are going out daily but if you see a rouge calico prowling around give Cyn a call.

Last week Cookie was missing, we assumed that he had succumbed to the allure of our second floor balcony and gone walkabout. We worried and looked for him but no Cookie. When we came home from doing laundry we found a sooty outline of a cat on our hearth and Cookie looking a little dingy. Turns out he was up the chimney. Plus we now have a clean flue, minus we had a very very dirty cat. He was not happy with the bath that followed.

Today my paycheck failed to appear for the second day in a row. This is not a happy thing. Called work, called the apartment and called the post office. No Joy, work can reissue my check on thursday and overnite it to me. once again I say Not happy. I had some not so evil plots I was using my money this week to finance, you know the kind involving chocolate? Hopefully it wil resolve itself soon.

Fire! best excuse ever!

2011-08-06T16:13:00.000-07:00

So I know I am always making excuses but honestly I have the best excuse ever this time. Fire!

For the 4th of july we had BBQ and a house fire, no relation. This resulted in us spending a week in hotels and a week at a friends before finding an apartment to live in so I could go back to earning a living.

All in all this has turned out to be for the best. We had not planned to move out until we had a car, but we are enjoying it being just the two of us again.

The down side is no stuff, the insurance company has all our belongings and has not got them back to us yet. :( also no car, and if friends and family aren't tired of us asking for rides I am sure they soon will be. The last issue is a set of stairs I have to haul things up when our furniture is released (or I get groceries). hot stairs. Hot steep stairs (cause the hot bears repeating.)

And did I mention that currently Texas is hotter than hells hinges (to quote one of Indra's news people) and honestly I don't want to even think about going outside.

ruff times

2011-06-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

weather has moved in an out and it makes my head hurt. And really I just want a better job so I have more money, so we can get our own car and house and I have my own bed/place to hide in. Cause I really want to hide in bed today. With covers pulled up and nothing to bother me.

I have a whole season of Project Runway to watch today (Indra willing) and plenty of knitting to keep me occupied. If I could find hot and cold running nibbles I would be a happy camper.

Love is...

2011-04-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

French Onions! My darling woman got me some at the store cause she loves me even when I have horrible onion breath!

Isn't she wonderful?

Anouther Day, or Are people really getting stupider?

2011-04-19T21:27:00.000-07:00

I have had a run of stupid people the last couple days, I know we make jokes about them breeding but I really believe it is true. The stupid people already outnumber us and we are doing nothing to stop it.

So I am going to read a book and avoid as much stupid as I can by staying off the internet where the Stupidest Stupid lives and hopefully my IQ will regain a couple points while I sleep.

Attack of the Blahs

2011-04-14T10:43:00.000-07:00

I've got a bad case of the blahs, I have been blaming the weather but I am thinking it is depression and well the blahs. No concentration, everything is a bit fuzzy thought wise and no energy, add in assorted I am old body aches and all I want to do is sleep until everything is better. To bad life doesn't work that way.

its been a loooong time

2011-04-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

I have not posted in a long time and I apologize for that. the economy hit and I lost my job and my house in quick succession. I have moved in with friends and after a year found a job (half the pay of the old one) spent a lot of last year depressed out of my mind but I am getting better. I may even start posting again.

In other news

2009-09-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

Indra and I are making changes. it is slow but we are going to do it. We both need to loose weight, we want a cleaner house (dirty dishes on the counter is a sorry thing) and we both want to eat better. Depression is a major obstacle for both of us, followed closely by pain (it is hard to clean when it hurts to sweep).

We are making plans, simple easy plans, and starting to dream (while trying to stay realistic, I will never be a size 14 again, I will be very lucky to every see a size 16 again) But it is a start.

I have a new knitting project, it is a Xmas present for Indra that she sort of knows about but since it is lace (with beads) she won't get to fully see it until I give it to her, right now it is sort of scrunchy.

I am quiting Daring Bakers, I just don't have the energy, money or interest needed to complete their challenges, instead I will be challenging myself to cook at least one recipe a month from my favorite desert book. Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax. Indra and I have a system worked out, I select the chapter and she selects the recipe. To make it a little more challenging I am going to be reducing the recipes to two person size and I am thinking about making a second variation of each just to challenge my creativity. Indra has expressed an interest in baking bread (which I am all for) so hopefully there will be fresh bread around here soon too.

Indra is talking about starting up blogging again, and I am going to try and blog more if only for myself. Indra wants us to do a blog together but I am really not sure about that, we have to drastically different styles and different interests and well everything. We will have to see what happens. Meanwhile I am redesigning my food blog High on the Hog. It needs some color and graphics and sparkle and pizazz! I may even be using wordpress with it, assuming of course I figure out how to do that.

My AC1 results came back as stop eating bad stuff before you become diabetic (so did Indra's) so we are trying to cut down on processed foods and carbs and up the protein and veggies we consume. It is not easy let me tell you. Protein costs money, and that is something in short supply around here, so Indra and I are talking food alot more and she is going to be helping me more so I can cook food instead of just heating things up. At least that's the plan and we all know how well those work.

In other news I have given up on WOW and am now playing EQ2, granted not alot but it really is alot more my speed. As a bonus they have housing for me to decorate :)

Sorry!!!

2009-09-07T18:28:00.000-07:00

It has been a bit since my last post for which I apologize. I got busy, got sick and played a whole bunch of catchup. Lately it has been I felt like crap, mostly anyway.

For those of you that don't follow Facebook and aren't members of Recipes to Rival (shame on you) I spent a week in the hospital and three weeks on either side of that feeling slightly better than crap. So I spent my whole month not eating, not cooking and not doing much of anything not required for basic survival.

I learned a couple things this month, like after a week of juice, malt-o-meal can make me cry and when you have a fever of 104 an ice bath is a lovely thing. I also learned that I have no idea how to clean and hiring a maid once in a while will make my life much much cleaner (and happier). I also learned that you can't dry heave forever, eventually you will find something to get rid of (not my most favorite discovery).

Most importantly I rediscovered how great my friends are, the one that took care of the car payment, the one that paid the electric bill and the one that got the new water heater on their Lowe's card. Not to mention the constant calls to see how I was doing and offering to drive an hour to take Indra shopping or pick up meds.

So Thanks all, and I got alot of catching up to do. :)

The Weekend

2009-05-27T16:39:00.001-07:00

This was the most productive weekend I can remember ever. I made strudel, I made onion strings, I did 4 dishwasher loads and 2 washers of cloths, I swept the floor and washed the dogs. I got highlights in my hair for the first time ever and waxed my eyebrows (also the first time). I moved Indra's computer to a bigger Case and hooked up her secondary drives. I did a little weeding and went to the movies. In short I was busy and accomplished alot.

I also figured out at least some of my health issues, I am getting night sweats because I can't breathe laying down (I have started sleeping in a recliner until I can get my mask recalibrate). My stomach has been acting up because I hurt, I am apparently gulping air when I get tired and giving myself gas and if I don't take pain pills my stomach gets cranky and I feel rotten. So I am being scanned and poked and prodded to figure it all out. I know more about my insides now than I ever wanted to.

So I guess it is a mixed bag, but in general I am feeling pretty positive. Now if I could only win the lottery

Rain Rain go away

2009-05-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

It has been raining off and on for the last several days, sometimes it is just a sprinkle and other times it is sheets of rain marching across the land scape. The yard is loving it, I am sure the pecans this year will be gorgeous. Indra and I are not as fond of it however. Our sinuses and allergies are making us tired and irritable. Plus I am cold, and being cold in Texas in may is just wrong. It is also limiting my activities on the weekends which I take exception to, tax season is over, I am suppose to be able to go outside on the weekend and do things.

All the rain has brought the fleas out in force and everybody is infested. I have ordered the flea meds but who knows when it will get here until then I think the boys are going to be getting frequent baths.

To add to the misery Indra's thyroid is being bad and making her tireder and sore and just plain Icky. My tummy is acting up, I am not sure if it is a result of the surgery or something new and interesting. Hopefully the Dr. will fix it on Friday.

Not everything is Doom and Gloom though. I received an invitation to Abacus from the Mushroom Council for a three-course meal, including a recipe demo and discussion on the latest mushroom ideas and trends from chef Kent Rathbun. To say I was thrilled would be an understatement. Indra was jealous until she heard it was about mushrooms, then she just made me promise to take her some day for regular food. Indra is using this as an excuse to doll me up. Personally I am still hung up on someone reading my blog and thinking that this would be a good event for me.

Riding this high, Indra took me out to get booze. Originally she was looking for hard liqueur, Bourbon, amaretto, rum, etc. We ended up in a wine shop however and after she was done drooling over the meat we did a small wine tasting and she bought me a very nice bottle to redo my Coq au Vin with. We signed up for their mailing list also and I think we are both looking forward to going back for more tastings. Since I don't like drinking wine, it surprised me that I enjoyed the tasting.
Indra also picked up some bottles of gourmet vanilla cream soda that wasn't half bad.

Indra is trying to convince me to celebrate an un Xmas so she can have her prezzie early. I compromised and told her I would show her another hint. This is what was hiding under the bubble wrap. Wonder what it could be ;) And no I am not removing the protective wrap so you can get a better look. At least not yet.

Under the weather

2009-05-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

We were Internet less this weekend starting about Friday afternoon. Indra went into serious withdrawal and started to clean. It got so bad she scrubbed the kitchen counter with a toothbrush. Granted it was an electric toothbrush but still. If it wasn't so cruel I would consider random Internet outages to keep the house clean.

I am in training for the next several weeks, A+ and Individual tax. I start work at 8:30 and the A+ class ends at 10, that is really not alot of time for a life, or well anything. Poor Indra is having to take care of herself and the house without me. I come home and pass out, if she is lucky I may peck her cheek on my way thru.

The A+ class is easy, I have taken the test and passed once already, granted it was several years ago, and not alot has changed. Besides I do that stuff for a living. But I get a new computer out of it and a shiney new certificate to hang on the wall.

The Ind class on the other hand has me scared. I am not good with money and the IRS insanity called a tax code. Honestly it gives me a headache and makes me very frustrated. To add to the pressure this means I will be expected to take at least a few tax calls. I have alot of mixed feeling about the whole thing but I can't complain to much, I did volunteer after all.

I find it ironic that I am spending all day on a computer but I am not finding enough time to do all the things I need to do on the computer. I also find it Ironic that working as hard as I do in a supposedly well paying field that I have as many money worries as I do. Obviously I am doing something wrong.

The sucker punch to my productivity the last week or so (besides the appendix thing) has been the weather. It has been rainy, hot and all around blechy. I have felt lethargic, sticky and floaty headed, not exactly conducive to hard work. Which has been bad because as always there is alot to do and alot I want to do and neither is getting done. I am almost at the point of having a bunch of friends over to clean everything.

Insult and Injury

2009-04-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I had my Appendix removed. Believe me this surprised me as much as anyone.

I had gone to bed Wed at my regular time only to be woken up about midnight with stomach pains. The Mexican from supper I figured and went back to sleep. I woke up several more times and by 6:50 hurt to much for sleep. At that point I figured out it wasn't the Mexican, because as far as I know Mexican doesn't hurt in just the lower right hand side.

I confirmed the 'not Mexican' feeling with a handy google search, decided it was also not kidneys, and figured out for anything more specific than I think it might be my appendix I would need a professional opinion. besides its not like I could treat not Mexican or kidneys myself.

At this point it is almost 8 so I decide to wait another 10 minutes to see what my local Dr thought, since I did not want to go to the emergency room if I had any other options. Unfortunately I chose a day the Dr was out and the nurse was late to get sick, so off to the emergency room i went. I decided against the ambulance because even though it was a 30 minute drive I figured I would be alot more comfortable sitting up then laying down (and ambulance rides are expensive).

I have nothing but good things to say about my emergency room experience. That might have to do with being out of my mind with pain and then pain killers but I don't think so. I was treaged quickly and in bed with out alot of poking, prodding or questioning. Even better they came by with morphine pretty soon after that.

I have been to the emergency room with other people enough to know they don't hand out pain pills until after they have decided whats wrong with you and that you really need it, so I was very surprised and very grateful. It didn't stop the hurting but it was enough to take the edge off. I was extremely grateful.

They gave me an IV and took a ton of blood, made em pee in a cup, sonogramed and scanned me. By noon they had a diagnosis, sick appendix, and by 3 I was out of surgery.

I really don't remember much of the recovery room, except for some strange reason my shoulder really hurt. They gave me more morphine, called Indra for me, and Most importantly gave me something to drink! I had a couple sips of water at 7:30 am and nothing else since 9 pm the night before. To say I was bone dry would be an understatement. Just before I lost consciousness again they said my oxygen was low and gave me an oxygen tube. Then they got panicky because I was cold, I got 4 heated blankets and told to keep my hands under the covers.

I woke up feeling pretty good and alot more lucid, I could actually use big people words (instead of owchie) and complete sentences. They told me I looked alot better then when I first came in (I didn't feel a whole lot better) and once I had proven that I was once again functioning, they said I could go home.

5pm and I was taken home by some good friends, even better they split up and Paul drove my car so I didn't have to worry about it. Not that I was worried about much of anything at that point.

Indra took over from there and for the last week I have not been allowed to do anything. I belched every time I set up for the first couple days and used alot more pain pills then I expected. On top of that I got my period and poison ivy. I am better than I was but not where I would like to be.

Pictures are from my visit (once I discovered I had my camera and the pain meds kicked in enough for me to get bored.)

Boxes

2009-04-10T18:28:00.000-07:00

Easter came and I finally got the Xmas tree down. I also cleaned like crazy and did some baking, over all a pretty productive day. I even decorated eggs with Jon, which was fun but now I have a dozen hard boiled eggs to eat.

Whoever is responsible for our hold music needs help. Just today I have listened to a woman singing about being a better man and a man singing about love hurting so good. It almost makes me scared to transfer calls. And our clients are not getting any smarter (or happier). this morning they were all calling in about an alert (see screen shot) they thought that it meant the efile deadline was 4/9. One guy yelled at me for 5 minutes because he read a message wrong (he thought return/extension meant it was efiling an extension not a return). I will be so glad when this is over.

It got cold after it got warm (again) but we are back to decent weather. Soon it will be to hot to do anything, but for now I am enjoying it. I am also working furiously at getting the kitchen cleaned so after tax I can dismantle it and put everything back where I can find it. Right now cleaning something involves moving alot of things around and putting other things in their place. I feel productive though.

Ready for the second installment of taunt Indra. We have rules in this house about opening other people boxes. But its really not Indra's box until I give it to her, So I am going to show you whats in the box today!

Ta Da! packing material! Huzzah! But wait, what is that underneath those giant bubbles? ......

You will have to wait for next time.

Spring has sprung

2009-04-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

Spring is officially here, I have the first rosebud outside my window and the other day a swarm of bees crossed the road in front of my car. It also means the poison Ivy is back and I got my first rash of the season, itchiness abounds. :(

In general I like spring it is one of the few times of the year I can go outside without the heat killing me. Usually I take advantage of this (and the new greenness of everything) to plant stuff. I am planning on picking up some basil and thyme today (the oregano from last year is still growing good) and am debating getting some strawberries or peppers (If Indra wasn't allergic I would be all over the tomatoes). If nothing else I have fun browsing.

I got notification last week that I had won a blog giveaway and received a very nice electronic something I am going to give Indra for Xmas. Like I told her I get 8 months of enjoyment by teasing and taunting her the joy of seeing her open it, and then I get to play with it just as much as if I had kept it for myself, which is to say not much.

To that end I took pictures, and shall post them one picture per post. Just little teasers, it will entertain me for at least a couple weeks. So picture #1.... The box it came in! OOOO AHHHH, look at that! I even included my hand for scale! see how generous I am?

You know what else spring means? Tax season is almost over and I almost have my life back.

The Word of the Day

2009-03-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

The word of the day is Random (and not our darkly sexy friend with a thing for spiders.)

This kind of Random... Refreshed by KFC some one has been reading their Mercedy Lackey's Vladamir series. Not that is a bad Idea, just more people should do it.

And the handsome kid to the right? My nephew, apparently my sister in law is practicing her piercing on the family members (I can't wait to see the dog.

Every English Wizard present was staring, open mouthed, at what they’d just seen. Draco Malfoy, one of the biggest daddy’s boys in existence, had just attacked and threatened his father. It didn’t seem possible. It was one of the most surreal experiences any of them could remember, and Arthur had experimented with Muggle drugs.

I won something really nice (which I am not naming here) that I have decided to tuck away for a Xmas gift to Indra. I plan on mentioning it alot because it is cute when Indra gets worked up.

My birthday gifts are grand, I have made ice cream and rice (not together silly) several times. The ice cream still needs work (texture is to grainy for Indra) but the rice is nummy! So I foresee much fun in my future playing with food.

Any one wanting to give me a belated birthday present (or who just has cash to burn), I would like a flickr pro account, A Lowe's gift certificate so I can buy plants, a pasta machine or I am still waiting for that Kitchen Aid Mixer.

Happy birthday to me

2009-03-11T20:01:00.000-07:00

Today was my birthday, and while I wish I could report that is was a perfect day, it has been along time since I have had one of those, and never on my birthday. It is like my birthday is cursed. (I think last yr I did a similar rant so feel free to wander away)

I got a concussion one year, the year I decided to have a birthday party no one came (not even my cousins), I have had a birthday cake that was slightly scorched and tilted at a 45 degree angle, when I went to college my father didn't send me a birthday card or present until Xmas time, and then their is all the years I had angel food cake for my birthday because it was dads favorite (I am not a big fan of angel food, my favorite is chocolate or pie, I like pie).

This year has been about par for the course, not terribly bad but it still fell short of expectations. Starting with last night when it went from 80 degrees outside to 40, I woke up at some strange am freezing important bits. I was then woken up about 3 hours before I would have preferred cause someone was cold and hungry (let me give you a hint it wasn't me). Because of the cold miserableness I did not get the house work done I wanted, and the rain and weather has made my head ache all day.

On the plus side I did not have to work, I got 60 dollars for watching a friends cat while they are out of town, said to heck with everything and went shopping for me food (easy and tasty) so we had real french toast (made with french bread) and real maple syrup for brunch and for supper we are having cheese enchiladas and apple pie courtesy of the freezer section with vanilla and black walnut ice cream (the black walnut makes me very happy).

For presents a friend bought me a good rice cooker and I bout myself and icecream machine and recipe book. I found out that you can make a wish list on Target (I listed all the kitchen stuff I want) and that the company spotlight awards will work on overstock.com and for things other than books at amazon (I did alot of window shopping).

Only three things left on my I don't need it but boy do I want it list, a good pasta machine, a Kitchen Aide mixer and an upright freezer. Right now I seam to be on a roll, who knows what I will have by this time next year (if you want to win major points with me the kitchen aide is the way to go, though the pasta machine would make my day (the kitchen aide would make my year)

FYI: my perfect birthday would be getting to sleep in, no house work (cause everything was already clean) and someone else cooking, Presents would be nice too with colorful paper and big bows.

Quick note

2009-03-07T22:16:00.000-08:00

I am finally feeling better, took three weeks, but still life is looking up.

I have two weeks of dishes and cleaning to do.

I am tired, oh so tired.

I love Indra.

I love Indra (something's need repeating).

The end

just one of those days

2009-02-23T11:13:00.000-08:00

This tax season is so bad I have started drinking Dr Pepper again. I have been caffeine free for several yrs and now this.

I was sick last week, it seems to be a never ending theme with me. I was miserable the whole time but not so miserable I didn't get frustrated that I wasn't getting anything done. Fortunately I got better rather dramatically, and almost caught up with my missed week. But the point is I am tired of being sick or busy or what ever that keeps me from having a life.

I am not sure what I am going to do about it (besides stop drinking Dr Pepper) but something has got to change. I have a feeling what is going to have to change is me and the way I think. And you know those are some of the hardest things to change.

A new day.

2009-02-13T17:01:00.000-08:00

My previous estimate of time worked was incorrect, according to my time sheet I am working 60 to 70 hour weeks. If I wasn't working from home I couldn't do it. As it is I am dragging bottom. The days I have an hour lunch are a reason to celebrate. I have never had a tax season like this before, last year went so smoothly I guess I got spoiled, I definitely wasn't ready for this! The money is nice but having time to spend it would be nice too.

We have great friends and one of them came thru with computer parts (no sex involved). The floppy drive smoked and the video card fan sounds like it is trying to take off, but it works. Well kinda, the memory that came with it was mostly bad and the dvd drive and cd rom drive are making me crazy (sometimes it works, sometimes not). And to top it off Indra's main hard drive is acting flakey and i have4 to try and salvage the data from it and find a place to put it. In my copious free time of course.

I got good stuff though. I cashed in my Lowe card I have been saving for 2 blueberry bushes and 4 raspberry plants. I have been wanting berries since we bought the house! I was lucky, they were just taking the plants off the truck when I showed up. Now all I need is the pampas grass I have dreamed of since I was a child and I will be one happy gardener!

In other news I am getting free books! That's right every bibliophiles dream come true, FREE Books! A blog I read daily Blake Makes is starting a magazine and looking for writers. I offered to do book reviews (and maybe an occasional article) in exchange for books to review. I started an Amazon wish list of food books that sounded interesting, and can't wait to see what shows up first.

I gotta say, right at this moment, Life is looking pretty darn good.

Bad Hair Day

2009-01-27T13:58:00.000-08:00

Indra has a theory. We were talking about all the Blagojevich craziness, and the man has said some truly crazy things, and she asked me 'do you think his hair is sentient?'. That stopped me for a moment, I actually thought about it, and you know it might explain things.

For example why his hair looks like it has a life of its own, and is apparently eating his head. Also some of the ignorant, stupid and down right odd statements could be explained by alien hair taking him over.

Apparently I am not the only one to think so. The Inside Dope speculates that his hair may be planning to run for office. MSNBC had a report of Blagojevich refusing to let the professional stylists for The View touch his hair. Suspicious, huh. The Chicago Sun Times thinks his hair might be a sign of mental illness. Mental illness, alien possession, not that different really. Even the Washington Post has noticed his hair, calling it a black cloud. Yeah a black brain sucking cloud! But if even the Washington post has commented on it it must be true!

When Moneys tight

2009-01-26T17:54:00.000-08:00

This was one of the post cards on the Post Secret site this weekend. I initial reaction is she should have told him to peddle his own ass, and secondly that she was worth more than a measly armor upgrade. I told Indra about the postcard and told her that I would generously let her have sex with other people but I expected her to hold out for the good stuff, computer parts! I think that was very generous of me.

Tax season started on January 15th with a bang (hence the lack of posts). We broke efiling and wouldn't you know it everyone wanted to efile. :( I am working 50-60 hour weeks already and I am really not happy about it. funnily enough the people that wait over an hour to talk to me aren't very happy either. I was spoiled by how easy last year was. Darn it, I shouldn't have to work this hard!

To top of a great week Indra's computer tanked. It looks like her Video card went bad and took her windows with it. I swapped her video card for mine and reinstalled windows and she is up and running, I put an old video card in my machine and I am finally up and running too. Neither one of us is pleased with the quality of our display but so far it is tolerable (Indra is having problems raiding in WOW though). The problem is we don't need a new component so much as we need a whole new system and that isn't in the budget for a couple more years (lots of other more important things first). I am not sure Indra's computer is going to hold out that long. So referring back to the first paragraph anyone want to help us out?

Back Again

2009-01-10T13:37:00.000-08:00

So I am back again. December was a bad month for me. I forgot to get my depression meds refilled and by the time Xmas rolled around I was crying at Christmas carols. Now newly medicated life is good and I am back to singing badly whenever Indra isn't around to complain (and even sometimes when she is).

Tax season has started and I worked my first 60 hour week. It wouldn't be so bad if the stupid people didn't keep calling. You know the ones that can't figure out that the customer id and customer number are the same thing. Or my favorite for the week the woman who called me up because she only reads for fun and wanted me to tell her how to install the program so she wouldn't have to read our instructions. I can already tell its going to be a long season.

Xmas was good despite the depression, I actually managed to get alot done. I am now working from home and let me tell you that saves a bundle on gas and gives me about 3 extra hours in my day (4 if I don't get dressed). I am thinking this will only get better as tax season progresses. The best thing about working at home has got to be the warm fuzzies, pets and sunshine. Though I will admit the food is pretty good too.

With the new yr It is time for resolutions, I always have a hard time with this because I hate make resolutions I know I won't keep and I hate making wimpy little resolutions that are easy to keep. Its a fine line but once again I am going to try.

I hereby resolve that in 2009 I will.....
Lose weight thru better diet and exercise (the exercise is the killer here)
That I will never again let my depression prescription lapse (I am mean when depressed and Indra doesn't deserve it)
I will find a way to make more money (I got a spare kidney if anyone is interested)
I will finish Lisa's sweater, some sort of top for me and a pair of socks this yr. (I can do it I know I can)
And you know I think that's about it.

Good luck with your new year resolutions.

I'm a Winner!

2008-11-07T07:01:00.000-08:00

or maybe that's Whiner, I can never remember.

As you can clearly see to the right I won mine sweeper at 32X24 with 200 mines, this is the first time this has happened in the 8 yrs I have been trying. And No I didn't cheat. (I took a screen shot and assumed the resolution was fine shows what I know.)

Obama is president (and not dead yet). and I am working from Home. See all Winners.

On top of that I am apparently popular for the first time in my life, in the last week 3 people from my past have contacted me to say hi (Indra thinks they want me to join their facebook thing). One was my first crush, I was silly and immature and all those things you are suppose to be as a teenager in Lust and everyone but him knew it. Still a great guy but now taken (well duh, I would have taken him ions ago) Second was a guy from high school, he was the strong quiet type but his friends where jerks to me, never hung out, never talked, no clue why he decided now 15 yrs later that I am interesting but OK. Lastly is a girl who called me stuck up because I was quiet and yelled at me for talking to her cousins (funny the things you remember). Once again not friends never hung out talking was limited to her being mean to me, but now she wants to chat. In this case I think it is a case of she kissed a girl and I am gay and she has a shorter memory then me. As my mother once said, its not that she didn't like me its just that she care one way or the other.

I am not sure what to do with this sudden largess of interest in me. Do I spill everything and hope they run away? do I chat them up and play nice? Do I even want to talk to them? Brad at least the answer is yes, Him I liked. Kevin and Jen, not sure, I really want to know what they want before I decide.

Its Donut time!

2008-10-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

I have discovered that the local grocery store puts out its fresh warm donuts at 8am. And they are good, not to greasy, not to sweet and warm, mmmmm. Now there is a reason to get up early.

TMI

2008-10-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

I started my period on Sunday, TMI I know but it is relevant, I am having a terrific craving for chocolate chip cookies, and strangely enough corn bread. I just ran out of chocolate chip cookies but with luck I will have cornbread tonight (If I remember to get eggs)and there are more cookies at home, I just have to make it through the next 8 hours.

We got a new dog this weekend a very nice black Schnauzer mix. He is very polite and very shy. He even has a dignified, civilised name, Ashton. I would post a picture but he is black and there are enough black blobs on the Internet and I don't need to add to them. If we get a decent picture I will post it.

Betrayed!

2008-10-15T17:01:00.000-07:00

Indra has been holding out on me. I'm shocked, and apparently its been going on for months, with out her telling me. There are not words to describe how betrayed I feel. She has been watching House with out me! She tells me it is my own fault since I was the one that told her to watch it on the computer since we don't have cable. But still she didn't share?

The lovely picture you see to your right is a coworker, who I will not name, he wore this getup for our customer service week pajama day. His excuse is this is what he wears to deer camp so he doesn't get shot. Personally if I saw that first thing in the morning I think it would be justifiable homicide.

this latest blogging lapse is due to a second round of poison ivy. We are currently blaming the dog for my latest episode. Once again I itched all over and to top it off I got a sinus infect and spend three days an itchy irritable achey mess before the meds finally worked. All in all I spend a week to distracted to do anything and then this last week has been a tax deadline and I have been busy. But with any luck that is changing. I am once again healthy ish, and definitely less harried.

In the news is I am set to start working from home in a a week and a half, and I am looking forward to that. I have grand plans to knit more, watch the shows I have missed this yr, sleep late and cook more. Heck I may even try to do more house work. Another big plus is the money saved in gas and with access to the pantry in food.

I keep telling myself that I will eventually learn how to handle money but then the lack of money to handle keeps getting in the way. I am getting better though and that has me feeling pretty good. I was complaining about the lack of cash in my life the other day and my in ability to get ahead, when a co worker offered this bit of wisdom, "You know that life you don't have? you have to give that up to get ahead." unfortunately that is soo true.

See Below.

2008-09-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

Its been a bit, I just get so overwhelmed at times, so many things to write, not enough time (or sleep) and then there is always tomorrow. Not that I procrastinate or anything. But still I can put things off forever if need be.

My life is like a roller coasted you go up the bottom drops out you crawl back up and then get jerked to the side. the whole time you heart is franticaly beating and you have a death grip on the wholey inadequate safety bar. And as exciting as it all is eventualy you get tired of the white knuckle thrills and just want off. Right now I am doing a slow crawl to the top. Maybe this time I will actualy make it.

I have been enjoying my cooking, but I simply have not had enough time to knit. I keep saying after I have my craft room clean and organized, still hasn't happened though. I did actualy start a shrug for Bridget's baby. And have plans for a second. But Xmas is getting ever closer and I am sooooo not ready.
Wouldn't it be nice if you could just save the money you usualy spend on presents and get yourself something nice?

Is it sad that the highlight of my work week has been training and the time off the phone, while the highlight of my home life this week has been, well Indra? Makes me want to cuddle up and never leave home (that may just be my cold toes talking though).

I am getting frustrated with my knitting, the lace knitting I was doing is taking more concentration then I have at the moment. And since I am pattern free on my childrens stuff I am ripping alot to get what I think is the right proportions. fortunately kids are small and so it goes quick. I am almost ready to actualy knit me something, It is just hard finding a pattern I am sure I will like and then yarn that is afffordable and nice. I am gearing up for socks. I am thinking about locking myself in the craft room for several hours over the weekend so I can get some knitting time in. I just need to find some motivation.

Me again

2008-08-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

Its been a bit, I was busy, I was sick, I slept for a week, and I played alot of catch up. And as soon as I get behind I feel guilty and then don't write anything and fall even further behind. Cause I had things to share and then different things and it all got overwhelming. So from the top here is my last several weeks.

I am vested. Surprised the heck out of me. I got a stock offer that I still don't understand which reminded me of one I got when I first started working here that I didn't understand either. My boss was shocked and decided that I needed to understand at least a little about this stock thing so took me aside and went over everything and while I still don't really understand most of it, I do get that I am vested and should I choose to 'exercise' my stocks I can have cash. Cash I understand, it is that thing I have in my hands momentarily before it evaporates.

I participated in out companies Idea Jam and won. This is a big deal. Lots of recognition, 500$ spotlight and a day off the phone. I was excited, my boss did that girly shrieky thing, Indra was all happy and proud, it was good. I am good at the idea thing. I just need to figure out how to capitalize on it.

The air conditioner in the bedroom broke. I was lucky enough to be able to be able to sleep on the couch in the craft room, poor Indra had to suffer. We were miserable for a week until I could afford a new one.

Then we got sick, achy sensitive to everything, exhausted sick. The air moving across my skin hurt, fortunately I slept most of that week, didn't eat much of anything and did absolutely nothing. It sucked.

I also had my yearly review, something I hate. and while I am ok (notice lower case) I have lots of room for improvement. Lucky me my boss has decided I have potential and need to be making more money (she really is all about the money) so I am now her 'project'. Step 1... upgrade my wardrobe (she actually suggested this would be a good investment for my stock money), Apparently being an overweight woman means I have to pay more attention to the image I project and I should dress for the job I want not the one I have and I need to 'brand' myself so I have image recognition and well lots of ands.. Indra is all on board with this and I am acting like a Barbi doll (she is talking about making me wear a thong so I don't have panty lines). First step is apparently a grown up purse.

That's not the only thing to change though. I have decided my life needs overhauled. I am tired of getting the short end of the stick and then getting beaten with it. So I have talked to Indra and made it clear that my priorities are shifting and I am going to be coming first in my priorities instead of her. And so if she wants to continue as she has been she is going to have to help me with my goals. Not that I am one hundred percent sure of my goals, they are mainly just gotta change.

So I signed up for my companies weight loss challenge (winner is person who loses highest percentage of body fat) and am making my lunches a priority, lots of fruits and vegetables. I am going to watch portions and Indra is going to exercise with me (sweating to the oldies, the man maybe a hyperactive chipmunk on speed but he does good work). If I win I am getting a Kitchen Aid mixer, this is my incentive. I may print out a picture to drool over to remind myself why that second cookie is not a good idea (and maybe the first cookie should be passed on as well.)

I am also going to be putting alot of effort into my environment. I need want to stop living like a college student. And I am damn tired of fighting the dishes. So I am either going to stop eating, get all plastic or make dishes a higher priority than WOW. darn it

The dog keeps find dehydrated lizard carcasses to chew on. Indra thinks he has a stash somewhere. It is disgusting. We decided that Not our Cat should be named Heifer, because she is a bossy cow and she has black and white markings. In case you didn't catch it she is becoming ever closer to being our cat. I am not pleased.

Alliteration

2008-07-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank Jeanne for some pretty powerful positivity. I managed to get the past rent worked out and on a more even keel financially (money is still good though).

With that load of stress less I am feeling better. More energy the whole 9 yards. And I even feel vaguely Optimistic about the future. Heck I may even go buy a lottery ticket (that will put Jeanne to the test).

The picture today is my poor toe after I sat in a chair that was on it. And yes it hurts. What amazes me is how many other people say they have done the same thing! I thought I was one of the few that were that klutzy.

Since this is my second self inflicted wound in as many weeks I am avoiding the kitchen tonight (at least that is my excuse). Last weekend The bandaid for the blister on my booby caused a boo boo. (hows that for alliteration!)

When we bug bombed the house I turned off the gas to the oven. The oven is a pain to relight and during the hour long fight I dropped the lighter on my breast causing a burn that blistered. Neosporing and a Bandaid helped that heal but the bandaid took the top layer of skin off when I went to remove it, Causing a fresh boo boo on my boobie. Ain't that fun. (no picture of the boobie, this isn't that kind of blog).

Suckage

2008-07-22T13:39:00.001-07:00

Life sucks. I haven't been posting because life has been spiraling out of control. you would think I would be use to it by now but I doubt I will ever get use to the feeling of the word falling out from under me and being slammed up against reality. And once again I say I am too old for this.

Financial problems is a young persons game, and as much as I would like to deny it I am not a young person anymore. I have spent my whole life trying to climb out of the hole I started out in. Every once in a while I will get a peak over the top and then the floor drops out from under me. So once again I say Life sucks

expect it to be a little bit before the next post.

PS: money and positivity welcomed

Celebrating Independance

2008-07-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

Remember when you were a child and you were convinced that grown ups had all the fun? No one made them go to bed and their was no one to say no to the cool new toy and they didn't have to do things they didn't want to. Let em tell you that was the life. Even if that life only occurred in my child's imagination.

Being an adult has been a big let down, not that I really want to be a child again but I sure would like to relive some of the highlights. The boundless energy, someone else cooking and cleaning up after me, feeling like the weekends lasted forever. I miss that.

This weekend was the 4th of July and we celebrated Independence. Every once in a while I feel compelled to remind people just like our childhood view of being a grown up, Independence has its down side too. Its called responsibility. There are days I am not sure it is worth it. As I told Indra this weekend I could really use one weekend when the hardest decision I had to make was what to wear. For just that one day someone else would cook and clean and take care of things and I could do whatever, even if it was nothing. Cause I can do alot of nothing.

So enough philosophy. On to business, I was in training all last week and therefore was unable to blog. Something about paying attention and learning. They also switched my schedule and I had to be in at 8:30 am, unfortunately my brain doesn't function well until 9am. that gap caused me some issues. I am really not a morning person. (and the chairs in training are killing my back, (Indra says it sounds like sex only painful when I try to move at night).

Last weekend we went to a pick your own place I found, and got 1.5 gallons blueberries and .5 gallons blackberries. This prompted some canning. My jelly did not set (not that I expected it to since I played fast and loose with the instructions) but blueberry sauce / syrup is still plenty good in my book. I had forgotten how much work it is to can and more importantly how hot it gets. In the process of canning I managed to slice my finger open on a pair of tongs. I also burned my tongue tasting things (and I would do it again in a heart beat, very nummy). Despite this I want to can other things, I had started to forget what real food tastes like and how much better home canned is than store bought.

This weekend was thankfully a long weekend. I had a flat tire on the way home on Thursday and then Friday had to go back for them to see if they could figure out why my tires are going bald so fast. I of course got too hot and that shut down Friday and Saturday for me. Indra has been down sick (or at least thoroughly miserable) and was starting to feel well enough Sunday to be bored crabby. I spent alot of Sunday trying to make up for two days of nothing. I almost made it too, if my back hadn't hurt so much I would have gotten the laundry done.

I have been lax on my knitting, to hot, the dog has been invasive, the needles to slippery, and my eyes were not focusing. I think those are all good reasons but I still feel guilty. I have new bamboo needles to help with the slipperyness and have decided to use a cookie sheet instead of a pencil box to magnetize my lace pattern to. I don't know when I am going to be able to go thru the craft room and return it to order and functionality. Right now my back hurts too much and I am overwhelmed, by everything.

Pickles

2008-06-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

I love Steven Colbert he is almost a good enough reason to get cable. Recently he showed up with some 'facial damage' and an unwillingness to share the origin of the damage. Colbert has claimed it could have happened by smashing watermelons with his head or by "practicing for a walk-on role in Cirque du Soleil and overestimating the number of French Canadians my forehead would support."

So while my sympathies go out to him, I got to ask 'French Canadians'? Why French ones?

Speaking of face damage I have some of my own, after swapping the comforter that was causing me so much problems out for another I slipped up this week and used Indra's blanket. Now my face is once again a mess and that makes me want to scratch and rub til it feels better (I may convince her to take a picture tomorrow). What I really need is a well loved quilt worn to satin smoothness, cause ALL the modern bed coverings have to much texture for me, or the thread count is to low. :( UPDATED: This picture was take three days after I relized what my problem was imagine it all swollen red and abraded.

Amazingly the baking and knitting groups I have joined appear to be doing good things for my stress levels. Which is good, because normally I would be comatose with stress right now. Instead I am looking forward to this weekend. I keep making the money stretch but pretty soon now it is going to all snap back in my face. It won't be pretty. Nope, not at all.

I need to bake bread this weekend and Indra has pointed out that while I mention my food blog I have been remiss in giving people a handy dandy link on the side. If you will look to your left you will see I fixed that. :) I also have alot of food blogging to do, And knitting, I am already 1 week behind in my KAL, and trust me that is alot of knitting. Lastly I need pictures of me, the food, the knitting, and who knows maybe the random pet.

That doesn't even get into the cleaning I need to do this weekend and the budgeting I am dreading, absolutely dreading. So I think I am going to be a bit busy.

Some days I really wish I could get an even break, I don't need millions of dollars I would just like to start in the black. I don't need everything handed to me, I am willing to work hard for what I get. But I would like the basics, A bed that doesn't sag, shoes that aren't falling apart, a car that isn't racing my bank balance to destruction (I'll give you a hint, the car usually wins). And maybe most importantly I want to be able to go to the right drs and get the right meds with out it being a choice between our health and our bills.

I do need time to knit and pretty needles and lots more yarn. I need, really really need a Kitchen Aid mixer (with flames down the side). I need a walk in Pantry and a Freezer (a BIG! freezer) and I wouldn't mind some refrigerator drawers for produce. I need a Dress Makers Dummy, and a selection of fabrics. And I need a miniature pony, I'm not kidding, it can wear little shoes to protect the floor and sleep in the bath tub, and I will name it Pickles.

Gravey

2008-06-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

I have been busy, As usual it is a mixed bag.

I got a new computer, this one actually works and can run WOW. the computer is a 03 Dell, but it was so clean inside you would have thought it was factory fresh, I almost took a picture. It has been 4 years since I have had my own computer, and that is a sad thing for a techie. So having a computer is very good news for me. It needs a memory upgrade rather desperately and the mouse still has balls (oh the horror!). but the processor is good and it feels sooo good to be able to get online at home and not have to share with Indra.

The code to upload images to my forum is still not working and no one on PunBB site has given me any suggestions. I had hoped to be able to sit down this weekend and figure it out, but no such luck. This really frustrates me. It should be so easy. And it is hard to get people to participate when things don't work right.

I have been really enjoying my food blogging, and not only because of the good food (or the very pretty pictures of other's food). I have enjoyed the process of making things. Since Indra has so many food Issues I tend to go for the tried and true, not to mention easy. I have missed real food and now I am rediscovering the joy of cooking.

Due to car problems last month Money is still tight enough to make the extras I want to buy a bad idea (though I will admit to buying some of it anyway.) If I can hold out another month and a half and get one of my knitting patterns sold we should be ok. Right now that feels like a very big gamble.

Since I am cooking more and spending more time in the kitchen my housekeeping has improved. I am keeping up with the dishes for the most part. And in an effort to keep the dog from eating things he shouldn't the floor has been kept pretty picked up. I don't think I have kept up with the house keeping this well for more years then I am willing to admit. I am sort of perversely proud.

We have flies, the flies are driving Indra crazy and then crazier. I am blaming the dog door being broken. but either way I do not know how to make them go away. Shoo Fly! Shoo!, just doesn't seem to be working. I am going to have to take a look at the fly trap we have this weekend.

I Finished my swatch for the Slow Bee Mystery Shawl and received the first clue. I even finished casting on the 181 stitches it requires and winding my yarn into balls instead of cones. If I manage to find some time to knit before Friday I may even be ready when they release the next clue. I am justifying knitting lace instead of working on my patterns by not sorting through all my paper for my notes, because A. it is too hot and B. I don't know where they are, and C. organizing my paper is a big job and I don't have the energy. I have a feeling these excuses aren't going to last for long.

In general despite difficulties my life isn't half bad. I really don't know what I would do with a stress free life, not that I wouldn't like to try. I have My Indra and all the rest is gravy.

How do you Rate as a Spouse?

2008-06-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

I found this Marital Test on a blog I frequent, Bag and Trash, home of the Monster Yarn. The history of the test was interesting, unlike alot of these tests it wasn't some bored nerd pulling questions out of thin error it is an actual survey used by psychologists in the 30's for marital counseling.

I took both the husband and wife test and Indra will be happy to know I make a better husband than wife. I also took the test for Indra (aren't I helpful) And I may have been a little harsh either that or I was way to generous on mine. either way here are the results. Have fun :)

As a 1930s wife, I am
Superior

Take the test!

As a 1930s husband, I am
Very Superior

Take the test!

And here is Indra's...

As a 1930s wife, I am
Average

Take the test!

Dear Diary...

2008-06-19T16:57:00.000-07:00

Every so often I swing by The Anti-Craft to see what is new. This time it was Bacon Angels. You got to love the creativity of some people.

I have been busy this week, When I wasn't working I have been trying to figure out why my forum isn't taking the new code to allow me to upload images to posts. so far I haven't cracked it yet. If I don't figure it out this weekend I may have to look into alternatives. Which quite honestly, would suck.

I have also been trying to make up for the cleaning I didn't do Sunday, I think I finally broke even last night which is good it means I can knit tonight and go shopping tomorrow and not end up to far in the hole come Saturday.

Yesterday Cookie Caught a lizard and drug it inside to play with. I always feel bad for their victim but as I told Indra it is just cats being cats and I am not going to punish them for it. On the other hand I am also not going to pick up any remains until after they stop moving. cause ICK!, just Ick! ::shudders::

I figured out why my face was breaking out so bad, the comforter I had on my bead has to much texture and was rubbing my face raw at night. I changed to just a plain sheet and my face is already getting better. I am very relieved because I was afraid it was my glasses causing the problem.

The evil Git gave me a computer, It would be a really good computer except for 2 things, it only had 128 mb of memory and the video card was an generic onboard one from Intell. Which means until I find the right driver I have a screen resolution of 640 X 720 and 4 colors. with luck though I will be online with my own computer by this weekend.

PS: I promised Indra when her father dies I will spank her and make her eat steak. Apparently this will make her feel better. And people think I am strange.

Never Enough Time

2008-06-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

See my plant? This is one of my garden successes, Bee's Balm. I never knew its blooms would be so pretty.

My Jasmine is apparently not getting enough sun to bloom though it is growing well. The Rosemary is flourishing and the only thing that keeps it from being a photo op is the funky split down the middle that makes me want to remove half the plant. The Sage and Lavender are recovering beautifully from Deans mowing last yr and I am looking forward to them next yr. The Salvia is thriving and if I ever remember I will get pictures of it.

The new plants are setting in and I should probably give them a once over with a little pruning and TLC. Lowes had Peonies for 13 dollars, I was so tempted, but this is really not the right time of yr to plant it and I do not have the time or money. Next yr I really want to put in Strawberries and Raspberries and expand my herb collection. something to look forward to.

I feel like I accomplished very little this weekend. of course I feel like Sunday was a total loss. Saturday I got up at a reasonable time and took care of all the dishes and did some baking, and well that felt like quite alot for a Saturday morning, we spent all afternoon with our friend Esther. Which means we got home late and bed even later.

Sunday I got up to early to talk to Lori about R2R. I am having trouble getting the upload images to work on the forum, and I can still not find the mod for group invites I want. I went grocery shopping before Indra woke up, got home and made her breakfast and then took a nap, baked and then took a nap, baked some more, Some where in there I did manage to do some laundry and take some pictures before I passed out for the night. I was still exhausted this morning. And now the kitchen is a mess, because while I baked I didn't clean up.

I got the first clue for my Slow Bee KAL. I have already learned alot like how to do decreases easier. I have also learned that, Cones do not travel well, that even with 20 rows 19 stitches across you need to count your stitches every row and have some way to keep track of what row you are on and mark it on the pattern. As soon as I have finished it there will be bad pictures. I promise :)

Oh Yeah!

2008-06-10T14:14:00.000-07:00

I promised a while ago to tell everyone one about my fun with Kool-Aid. I did not have as much fun as who ever dyed these lambs (they were for a children's day at a library). I am really considering getting a white pet just so I can dye it like these lambs they are adorable. On to the show, here is what I did.

I was originally dyeing the yarn for my Slow Bee KAL but it turned out that the yarn was to think and their wasn't enough of it. Who knew Lace yarn was so thin! Now I have about 1000 yds of hand dyed angora blend I get to play with.

So I started with a sweater that was a very pale pink and rather ugly and did alot of very careful unraveling. I discovered that unraveling directly to my swift is a real time saver, unfortunately I have two sweaters already unraveled and sitting in big fluffy heaps waiting to be wound up. Oh well someday I will be either that bored or that desperate, until then it isn't getting any more tangled.

I then looked over the Kool-Aid I had on hand to see what I had to work with, it was a rather poor assortment since we don't really drink the stuff. But I rounded up enough for these samples and I was more impressed with the lemon lime then I had thought and the reds were really lovely. Who knew Kool-aid could be so, well Cool?

The colors I decided on were blue lemonade with a touch of the lemon lime. I ended up dying it twice because I didn't think the colors were dark enough (still don't) but it turned out pretty nice). I am not sure if the problem was my math or something in the procedure but I am happy with the results even if they are little more subtle then I had planned.

LOOOT!!!!!

2008-06-08T06:45:00.001-07:00

I got Loot! Lots of glorious loot. I am all about the loot. The only bad thing is it isn't free loot, no ransacking involved. :( Still it is CHEAP loot and that is almost as good.

Yesterday was our city wide garage sale, and I managed to hook up with the Queen of all garage salers. She shops like I play WOW. Look another one, and over there two more, I know I can't carry anymore but there is another one, and it is after lunch, but we haven't checked that out yet. This is my LYS owner. She is about a foot shorter then me and was wearing high heels and I still couldn't keep up. And to add insult to injury I was dripping wet and she was as cool as a cucumber. It was great!

I spent 60 bucks, I had only planned on spending 30, but then again I hadn't planned on spending 5 hours shopping either. As you can see I got some great stuff (my Flickr will have it all labeled), the best buys were the chair for 20 (Indra has claimed it and it is off limits to me and the dog), the two lamps for 5 (best part is they use regular light bulbs), the ceramic lined roasted for .50 and the sink Mandolin that was brand new still in packaging for 1.

I also got this and have once again been labeled Dumb Ass by Indra. Apparently my manager handing me a bottle of sunscreen at work on Thursday should have been a hint that I am one of the truly pale people and need protected from the evil day star. I told Indra that as a hint went it was a little to subtle for me.

K is for....

2008-06-06T14:46:00.001-07:00

K is for Knit Knacks, Font is Knits and Scraps

Some of the little Knit Knacks I have collected. If you are interested Flickr tells you what everything is.

I've been Tagged!

2008-06-06T12:10:00.001-07:00

Lori of
Lip Smacking Goodness, My partner in crime in developing the new Recipes to Rival savory challenge, Tagged me! I have mixed feelings about this first of all these type of things frustrate me and second of all it means someone reads my blogs. Irritation and elation are warring with in me. I think I am going to let elation win and hope this isn't like a chain letter and as soon as I do this one three more show up.

So here goes....
What was I doing ten years ago?

1998, I was graduating college and Falling even more in love with Indra, We were handfasted in December. I also experienced my first real prejudice, One really nice apartment would rent to two girls but not two lesbians.

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:

1. Pick up freecycled gas grill (surprise Indra)
2. Grocery Shopping (have to figure out the list first)
3. Get rest of letters posts for the Recipes to Rival blog
4. Find chart for dwarf coat (I am remaking it to fix issues)
5. Post my K to my blog and ravelry group

5 Snacks I enjoy:

Chocolate
cheese
Apple
Celery (especially with peanut butter)
Pie (there is always room for Pie!)

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

I have had this planned since I was 6. Pay my bills. Fix my house (took me 30yrs but I finally figured out I don't want a huge house I want a well designed house.) Invest! Help my Family. Help others (healthcare for young and elderly, food programs, education). And I want to take all the people that have been there for me over the yrs out to a really nice restaurant and give them nice presents as a thank you. I also want to go on one shopping spree where I don't look at price tags.

Places I have lived:

Mt Ayer, IA
Nevinville, IA
Creston, IA
Shannon City, IA
Denton, TX
Indra will kill me if I give my current location so I will say Hicksville, TX just north of Dallas

Jobs I have had:

Farm Hand on a Dairy farm, College Cafeteria worker, Stocker in Grocery Store, Waitress (I wasn't very good at it), Mall Survey Taker, Home Health Care (live in caretaker for elderly), Library Aide (Special collections), MSN Phone Support, Corporate Computer Helpdesk, Best Buy Trainer, Kirby Salesman, And Currently Computer Helpdesk for Tax Software.

I tag……
Wendy of Earth Whisper Fiber Arts.
Bron of Bron's Blog II
Rachael of Yarn a Go-Go
Leslie of A Friend to Knit with (she started my interest in the food blogging world.)

Act 2, scene 1

2008-06-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

May was a disaster that appears to be moving into act 2.

The car broke again Friday. And so I am having another long weekend. If I am lucky I will be back to work Thursday. It is going to take another 200$ to fix the car. I have taken out all the loans I can. I know of no one who has money they could loan me. And if they did I have no idea how or when I could pay them back.

Also On Friday I was told that the rapidly spreading burning itching swollen rash on my inner thighs (where my short legs had hit me on sat) was definitely an allergic reaction to something, maybe poison ivy, and that the solution was a cream applied twice daily and plastic bags taped over it 'to keep it moist'. Also an ice pack between my legs helped some.

Also while I was at the Dr she took a look down my throat. I apparently suffer from Tonsilliths, like monoliths but in your tonsils, also called tonsil stones. Two things about them, they make your breath reek, and they irritate the hell out of my tonsils.

So to recap feel horrible, poor and stinky. Doesn't look like Act 2 is going to end very well for me.

J is for...

2008-06-02T09:21:00.001-07:00

J is for Jello! font is Johnyokonysm.

Warm pudding is a comfort food for me when my throat hurts. The warmth soothes and the the thickness coats my throat and the sugar is a natural antiseptic. Besides that it just plain tastes good. and Jello is of course the preferred brand.

Drama Queen

2008-05-29T14:56:00.000-07:00

This weekend was long, and work has been busy and eventually I'll stop apologizing for not posting regularly. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

Quite litterly this weekend was long. I left work early Friday because a co-worker handed me free tickets to the musical 'Ring of Fire' 3 hours before it started. Luckily my boss let me go and we got there as there were calling 3 minutes to closing the doors. Indra and I enjoyed it greatly, if for no other reason then we were together and we liked the music. For the record it was not a play or even a musical it was what I would call a revue, lots of music very little talking and almost no plot. still good though.

On the way home though is when the real drama started. In a bad part of Dallas my car started making grumbly grinding sounds and flashing the oh no your in trouble light. I ignored those lights just once in my life and had to get a new engine. And contrary to popular opinion I do learn from my mistakes. So I pulled over immediately. At this point it is 11pm on a Friday night every one I knew was either asleep, not answering their phone or more then an hour away. I checked with the convenience store clerk where we stopped and they said even if I had parked in front if I left the car unattended it would not be in one piece when I returned.

I need my car. I like my car. And I couldn't afford a tow all the way home. So I tried a sorta friend more of acquaintance co-worker and got lucky. Since the car was still working, sorta. and I couldn't see anything under the hood that shouted I'm going to explode I decided to see how far north I could get before it truely died. I wanted to get at least to a safer part of town. as luck would have it I got all the to Mckinney before it stopped and parked it in the hospital parking lot. The next morning I called our car guy and he went to get it. And more drama ensues as the part he needs isn't in stock anywhere it is late Saturday and the earliest he can get it is Tuesday. Not alot of choice there, so Tuesday it was.

You know those 4 days with out a car were some of the best I have had in a long time. I got almost all of the chores on my list done (close enough for me), kept up with the dishes, got plenty of sleep, did some baking and dyed some yarn. The only down spots were a slight worry about where the 300$ for the car was coming from and if the little grocery shopping I had done would be enough (I had to get creative but nobody died so it is all good).

Wednesday came and I headed back to work to discover I was missed and we were very very busy and that soon I am going to be even busier as I am getting another product to support. And the possibility that the hated manager would be back. SO I have been busy and that is why I haven't posted anything recently, well that and cause Indra hogs the computer.

And that was my weekend folks.
I have some more pictures to take and then I will post about dyeing my yarn. I did bake and posted on my food blog, High on the Hog. I decided that it is going to be a real blog and not just a place to link to, so now you have two places to read for me, lucky you.

I found an artist that I absolutely love! Andy Goldsworthy is a artist naturalist, environmentalist and genius. So I thought I would share, I would suggest a Google image search to start with. He is well worth the effort.

Lucky Charms

2008-05-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

Have you ever taken a close look at the shapes in Lucky charms? not the marshmallow bits but the oat bits. I did today and was surprised by their obvious X-tian overtones.

There is of course the fish and an X, both ancient symbols of Christianity. Also a clover (symbol of the trinity) and a tree. I find this in sharp contrast to lucky horseshoes and pots of gold.

I tried googling for an answer and found plenty on the marshmallow shapes but nothing on the oat ones other then someone mentioning that they had noticed the fish and what did others think.

Just something to contemplate the next time you are scarfing down some marshmallowy goodness.

life

2008-05-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was very productive for me. I still didn't get everything done but I have resigned myself to that. What I did get done was enough. I cleaned out the pile of boxes in the craft room and sorted my yarn. I found I had both more and less yarn then I thought, Less variety but it took up More room. We cleaned off the bookshelf in the kitchen and moved the table. Did some laundry, swept the floor, and played way to much Baldur's Gate. Throw in my Sit and Knit group and you have a very good weekend. I am thinking even with an extra day this weekend isn't going to be as productive.

Freecycle came thru for me this week and I have a very nice full length mirror and a little metal cabinet that is just the right size for a end table and will give us some extra storage room. I am liking the house a little barer then in the past. Especially the bedroom. We need more storage / organization though, book shelves are top of the list to keep the clutter down.

I have been busy browsing the web this week, lots of food blogs and I signed up for my first Knitting KAL. I am not sure how I am going to manage my time to keep up with everyone but I am looking forward to it. I am hoping that I will be able to do more cooking and baking, the food blogs are really inspiring me, but I am just so tired when I get home, and there are so many other things to do.

On time

2008-05-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

I am on time for once with my Quotage. So here goes....

Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

I was busy this weekend, got alot done but never enough. I was busy this week too, and I expect I will continue to be busy. I am however less stressed.

National Bad Idea Day

2008-05-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

This morning on the way into work KERA had a commentary about how May 18th should be National Bad Idea day. Not only did this make a better post heading then I'm an idiot it made me think about some of the bad ideas in I have had as well as those of others.

My current bad idea was rubbing a possibly poisonous plant on my arm to see if it was poisonous when I am very sensitive to such things. I now have a rash on my arm, not only where I rubbed the leaves but crawling the rest of the way up my arm, despite washing thoroughly right after application. I think the plant was poisonous.

Indra was definitely a good Idea but some of the things I let her talk me into were definitely Bad Ideas. Lets just say Rick and Sarah and leave it at that.

But really when I stop and think there aren't that many major decisions I would change and chances are I would have the same bad ideas the second time around.

This is just to good not to share. 'Dogs in Elk' was sent to me years ago and it still makes me howl in laughter.

Kits, Kats, Sacks and Wives

2008-05-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

More browsing of food blogs has left me feeling insuffecient. And made me want all sorts of things so I can make goodies of my own. Like Marshmallow's and cakes and pie and salady things. I want a budget, darn it, that has room for good eats. I want a life that has time to do 'Tuesdays with Dorrie' and the umpteen other cook alongs I have found. On the other hand I made smoked tuna cassrole last night, it was easy, I just turned the heat up and scorched the tuna helper a little. Haute Cuisine or bad cook, your call.

But that was for the future. He laughed as he thought of something to do tonight. Maybe they would go out and mutilate some crops and form the cattle into circles. That would confuse the humans!

Wensday's pregnancy has been called into question it is a possibility that the slight chubbyness is the result of good food and a safe home rather then Kittens. This has caused mixed feeling at our house. Kittens are cute and cuddely unfortunately they grow up to be cats.

California has declared it inconstitutional to ban gay marriage. I am sure tonight Indra will be all excited about that and want to know if there is someway we can go to California to be married. I am already married and don't need a piece of paper to prove it, and really it actually kind of offends me that I have to go to anouther state to get said piece of paper. All in all it reminds me of my mantra 'People are stupid', makes me kinda irritated.

Rain Rain go away

2008-05-14T09:04:00.000-07:00

It started raining last night and is still going this morning, it is making my head all muzzy and I am a tad chilly. It is making me crave soup or good old fashioned home cooking. I made Swiss Steak last week and it sounds delicious right now. What I really want though is a thick stew with lots of meat and veggies and nice crusty bread to go with it. I am not sure what I am actualy going to end up with, it probably depends on how I feel when I get home.

I've spent the last couple days playing with my food blog (must put link on side panel) and browsing various goodness, but the weather today is just dragging me down. I need to do some research for my knitting patterns and just don't have the concentration. So I am being a bit Random. As a plus I found this goody, Flogos!

Funny Face

2008-05-13T15:16:00.000-07:00

Yep, its been that kind of day and week. And I gotta tell you it is still better then tax season. I still want a do over, but you know with my luck I would do even worse the second time around.

Work is still busy, busier then tax season for the most part, but still less stressful. House work is slowly getting completed, and I think Indra and I are both happy with where we are heading. She has started cooking with me and I am enjoying that. She has also said she will help me find the time to get my knitting patterns written up to sell and format them all pretty like. Indra rocks!

I have still not got the mac set up, apparently I need a mac keyboard, cause the normal one I had typed funny (though that could have been the Dr Pepper Indra spilled on it). I really really want to get it running, I miss being able to browse and type at home.

My craft room is going to be great once I am done in there it is already a soothing place to read (or whatever) I need to get storage arranged though so I don't have a stack of boxes anymore for the dog to 'find' things in. It will also give me more floor space to play with. I already have some ideas for 'decorating' but they will have to wait, I have alot of other house to clean first.

Poor Old Micheal Finnegan..

2008-05-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

Ok good stuff first. Best is this lovely tree with a rose bush growing up through it. It was simply beautiful. Indra wants one and I am seriously thinking I would like to recreate it as well. Think how pretty it would be growing up through an evergreen! (for more images check out my Flickr account)

Continuing on the rose theme is the Fudgy Chocolate Layer Cake I made for Clay's Lisa's Birthday party on Sunday. The cake is by me and the rose is a minicake from Kroger since my decorating skills are negligible. I used a recipe from one of my favorite books and while Indra said it was great I found it a little dense and dry though the frosting is lovely. Everyone else seamed to like it so I guess it was a success even if it goes on my don't do again list.

Now for the bad news, My payday loan went thru and left us almost broke, then John cashed the rent check for April and left us in the red and there is still the rent check for May to go through. And even with another Payday loan (which I really can't afford) that second rent check isn't going to go unless Indra's tax rebate is bigger and sooner then expected. In theory at the end of that month I should get a bonus of about 600, that will definitely help and I was hoping would put us back in the black but I am not holding my breath at the moment.

In the not so bad news Wednesday is definitely expecting and looking at her I expect her to drop at any moment, which means probably in the next three weeks since she is a little kitty and probably showing early.

busy

2008-05-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

I have been busy this week. Work released an update to last years program that went about as expected, that is poorly so we were busy at work. And I discovered the world of food blogs, So many people taking pictures of food and sharing recipes, it makes my mouth water. So I started a food blog of my own.

It will most likely be nothing but a list of recipes and some pictures that I can link to from here. Looking at some of those blogs I swear those people must run around with a camera everywhere, and what kind of looks are you going to get whipping out a camera in a restaurant to take pictures of your food?

I signed up for 4 food challenges and figured out how to get the little link picture thingies on the side. I am so proud of myself. :)

I is for...

2008-05-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

I is for Indra and I. Font Informal Roman.

Indra and I were handfasted on December 20, 1998. She is the most Important thing in my life. I could not Imagine life with out her. She is Intelligent, Irascible and Impressively Intuitive. I was Intrigued by her and her Ingenuity Immediately. And while at times she can be a tad Immature (who am I kidding, alot Immature) she has Improved my life Immeasurably. In short, I love her with all my being. So it will be Indra and I for eternity. (she may even forgive me for posting a picture of her in an Immodest corset)

backtracking

2008-05-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

It has been a bit since I last posted, the reasons are the usual. Not enough time, busy, stress, and illness. I ran a fever the weekend we moved, fever chills the whole nine yards. It was Wednesday before I went back to work and Saturday before I felt decent. Saturday Indra went to see Iron Man and I conked out at home, slept the whole day, it was great. Sunday, was housework and my Sit and Stitch. It was great to get to go again.

I don't really have an excuse for not blogging Monday or Tuesday, other then I just didn't But I was busy today so there is alot to catch up on.

Indra's surprises were a Pomegranate tree and a Blue Girl rose, she was thrilled, and most determined Dean not mow them over. she was with out Internet until today and I was afraid she was going to have a nervous break down. She actually had to resort to cleaning to keep herself occupied. We got the Internet just in time for her mouse to go south. It started double clicking on nothing , which made it hard to play solitaire. So tonight we went and got a new mouse.... and keyboard... and mouse pad (20$, it is fancy). The trade off is I get the computer tonight.

My brother emailed me out of the blue. Apparently he had lost all my contact info and now after several yrs of my father not being able to remember my phone number or address he found me again. I talked to him on the phone and emailed him several times. Relationships are hard work even those you are born with. Maybe if we had telepathy it wouldn't be so hard to talk to people.

I was reading journals and browsing pictures and stumbled across the Daring Bakers website. It had instant appeal to me, pictures, recipes and people to share them with. So I signed up. And then I started thinking, I wanted to have some incentive to cook other things as well, and after a little searching I found the answer. Taste & Create, A blog recipe swap type thing. So I signed up for that too.

I now have the daunting task(at least to me) of going back over past entries and adding recipes so I can participate in the Taste & Create challenge. I started by marking all my food entries with a tag (I must use tags more) And bartered some computer time from Indra for adding recipes tonight. I think what I am going todo is use links instead of writing out the whole recipe in an entry. Indra has volunteered to create a web page for me somewhere to link to and it will be alot easier for me to format and type up my recipes separately instead of while blogging.

H is for ...

2008-04-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

Home Sweet Home, Font Harrington. It is not much to look at but it is Ours! and soon we will be living in it again. We are painting the bedroom on Saturday and moving in on Sunday. We have been gone 6 months due to financial issues, and are desperate to get back.

Money is still an issue, I think it will always be an issue and I really wish it wasn't. I am not good with money and I am not making enough to be bad with it. Consequently I am always walking the tightrope over utter ruin. It would be nice to have someone that would take care of it all for me cause I gotta be honest the worry and stress are about doing me in.

Like I have told Indra, If I can get to the place where I am not constantly worrying about the necessities (rent, water, electric) I can live on very little. I grew up poor I can make food stretch forever and the library will take care of my entertainment needs, I am not a fashion plate so goodwill clothes are fine, But the stress of meeting those basic necessities are about killing me. And when I am stressed I don't have energy or inclination to cook and I spend money on things I really shouldn't. Thus enabling a vicious cycle.

Sooo anybody got those winning lottery numbers?

Heeeere's Jonny!

2008-04-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

Quote of the day. I think it sums everything up nicely.

“Ah, yes, the old ‘they haven’t killed us all in our sleep yet’ argument, very comforting,”

Deviations

2008-04-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

from my DeviantArt Account.

Life got 'complicated' in 07. That's the best word for it really. Lots of drama and despair ending with more of the same (thankfully in a slightly lower key of miserableness.)

On the plus side is We still have the house, I have a computer that I can browse the Internet on at home, I am getting better at managing the money. I have finally seen the specialists about my sleeping and sinus problems, I have interest in buying my knitting patterns.

On the down side the usual, the house needs work I can't afford, The computer is a mac and we don't have Internet back on yet, There is not enough money to manage, the Dr didn't help, I don't have time to knit or the concentration to create patterns.

I could go on but you get the idea. I am stressed, depressed and very very tired. Not at all creative feeling.

We should be back in the house next week, with any luck I will start adding computer art since I no longer have access to a scanner. Until then my creative impulses are being channeled into painting the house, planting some flowers and other general decorating type things, basically making the house ours again after being gone 6 months.

Free! Free at last!!

2008-04-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

It is official, Tax season is OVER! The last week and a half or more I have been working like crazy sleeping crappy and eating even worse. Consequently I have been a wee bit out of it, dragging bottom, strung out, not doing very well. SO no journaling, no thinking and no well anything, ask Indra if you don't believe me.

I am spending this week at the house cleaning in preparation to moving back in. I am missing Indra like crazy but on the plus side I am getting to sleep and feeling human again. It is nice, I could definitely get use to this sleeping thing. Which brings me to the quote for the day...

“Rest, now,” Martha said gently, seeing how tired the Doctor looked and diagnosing exhaustion. Luckily, the prescription for that was simple. Take two naps, and smash your alarm clock in the morning.

Besides cleaning the house I got lured in by the beautiful weather and did some gardening. I have decided, that since Dean is a little shaky on good plant vs bad weed, that I am going to plant things in groups and put metal stakes in the middle so he will stop mowing everything I plant. Hopefully it will work. I am getting tired of replanting the thyme. And as an additional bonus it gives me something to tie the sage and lavender too so they don't grow flat to the ground in self preservation.

I got to tell you I am loving the plants at Lowe's! They had Turnips! and Peas! and all sorts of goodies. I got Greek Oregano, Sweet Basil, Cinnamon Basil, German Thyme, Carolina Jasmine, English Peas (sweet), A white Rose bush that smells Divine and two surprises for Indra (that is a hint in case you read this) I did not however get the Turnips.

I love Turnips, always have, but I just couldn't see planting them in front of the house. No way I looked at it could I convince myself that Turnips were decorative. At all, In any way. And since I am doing all my planting at the front of the house that means no Turnips :(. If the peas work out though there will be more next yr and Sweet Peas (flower not edible). I really really want to finish the fence so I can put Raspberries in the back yard and I have been thinking of Peonies. Spring is definitely in the air.

G is for Glovely

2008-04-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

G is for Glovely, Font is Guttenberg, Pattern is Nona Knit's I-cord Gloves.

I promise this is the last time i will use this project for a letter. But I really really like these. And the seam on the thumb has me all worked up, isn't it beautious?

Quotage

2008-04-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

For the quotes today I decided to pick a selection of quotes that fit me. Enjoy the abundance.

I believe everybody in the world should have guns. Citizens should have bazookas and rocket launchers too. I believe that all citizens should have their weapons of choice. However, I also believe that only I should have the ammunition. Because frankly, I wouldn't trust the rest of the goobers with anything more dangerous than string. ~Scott Adams~

Fate will lead he who will follow and drag he who will not

The Teutonic reputation for cruelty is not undeserved; they have operas that last for days.

I'm already going to hell, but I'd like to at least keep the handbasket.

Remember, always be yourself. Unless you suck.

"Luck is my middle name," said Rincewind, indistinctly. "Mind you, my first name is Bad."

Those three had more baggage than all of United, Delta, and Northwestern put together.

The most important thing is to be whatever you are without shame. – Rod Steiger

You won't be gay...you'll just be expanding your horizons.

That would have been the smart move, but no one ever accused me of being smart. Well, this teacher in the third grade did once, but I proved him wrong by sticking chalk up my nose.

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be misquoted and used against you.

"I was on fire," Harry protested, looking up in alarm. "Whatever someone says when they’re on fire shouldn’t count.

I'll leave the panicking to you; you're obviously much better at it than I am.

“In the beginning there was nothing. God said, 'Let there be light!' And there was light,” she said gently, then gave him a quirky grin. “There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better.”

It’s not insanity if it actually happens!

I Wanna....

2008-04-01T15:44:00.001-07:00

I wanna travel.
I wanna have stuff.
I wanna eat at fancy restaurants with out having to save for a night out.
I wanna buy something with out having to check the price tag.
I wanna garden.
I wanna lot of fancy yarns.
I wanna be feel healthier and be healthier.
I wanna have nice clothes that look good on me.
I wanna make Indra happy.
I wanna have enough I can share with others with out stretching myself thin.

I wanna lots of things, but I don't think any of it will make me any happier then Indra already does. It will just make my stress a little less, or at least different.

F is for..

2008-03-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

F is for Five Fingers. Font is Freebooter. Pattern is
Nona Knits I-cord Gloves.

I am fascinated by this pattern it is so cool to have five little fingers floating around on a pair of circulars just waiting for the rest of the glove. I kind of feel like Goldilocks, the first glove was too big, the second one was too small, and the last one was just right. Guess that means I am going to have three pair of gloves instead of just one when I am done.

Oops I did it again...

2008-03-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

I missed updating this week despite composing several entries in my head driving to and from work. I had a bumper sticker to share 'Save the Planet, More Trees, Less Bush!' and a billboard, 'I am so over you Sarah Marshall', I was disapointed to find out it was an ad for a movie and not a more personal statement.

It was a rough week though, long hours not enough sleep and way to much stress. I will be so happy to get back to our own place. So let me give you the quotes I had picked out in honor of the new car and the old one not dying yet...

Xander quickly pulled over, as his engine made noises that he didn't know were possible without an extensive special budget and George Lucas being involved.

and

“Okay, then,” Dawn agreed, “Floor this thing.”
“This is Giles’ car, Dawn,” Xander sighed.
“Would leaning forward help?”
“Probably...”

I finally got the pictures of my pouch (sounds better then purse) uploaded and thought I would share it. It is almost perfect. I would like the strap to be a little shorter and am thinking of reinforcing the bottom and sides so it isn't quite do pouch like. Ain't it purty though?

Also added today (why yes I have been busy) are some more links on the left.

I'm a Big Kid Now!

2008-03-19T11:45:00.000-07:00

I feel all grown up. I have a car that runs, my own phone, And soon I will be moving into my own home. The surprise for Indra on Monday, was the new phone and I got a hair cut. My hair was driving me absolutely bonkers. I was actually contemplating cutting it myself. So when I found myself with an hour free I got it cut. It is wonderful. I have been walking around in a new phone, haircut and car haze all week.

Continuing the trend of non fanfic quotes here is one from my favorite poet.

A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold. ~ Ogden Nash (1902 - 1971)

My new phone is a 'slider' and a lovely shade of brown. So I am making a purse to carry it and the rest of my pocket trash so it doesn't get all banged up. I am making a purse and not a pouch like previously so Indra won't diss it. I am using my brown S.R.Kerster, the real worsted acrylic and King Cole Smooth DK, Teal Acrylic. Yes it will be in Ravelry and soon there should be pictures (maybe even pictures taken with my phone!).

I finished my Easter Egg Bunny Cozies and let my friends claim their favorites. I still have several left and am not sure what I am doing with them. If anyone wants one let me know asap, and I will mail it out. The taken ones have been tagged in Flicr.

Good Day

2008-03-17T18:38:00.000-07:00

I am having a pretty good day, and yesterday wasn't bad either. I had homemade egg noodles with chicken and mashed potatoes, and chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. And Sunday we went to see that car and it was nice! It is the first car I have owned that wasn't old enough to drink.

I finished knitting bunnies and have found new homes for some of them but there are still plenty left. And today I started a new project (I decided I needed a little purse because the pocket method of tranporting everything isn't working.) I measured for Lisa's cardi Saturday, and it will take less hexagons than I thought, but the arms are going to be a bugger to fit together.

I got Indra a couple suprises I think she is going to love. they certainly have me all bouncy in anticipation. I am predicting much squeeling and bouncing. But more on that latter... when she can't ruin the suprise by reading.

The image is the rough for a T-shirt contest Work is having. When finished there will be a hot dog on it.

How do you rate?

2008-03-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

Indra sent me this link yesterday 'Rate Your Blog' I was PG-13 yesterday and G today. I really didn't think I had changed that much over night but obviously I was wrong.

Have I mentioned recently how great my friends are? I don't have many but the ones I do have are really really good. For example Frog and Lisa took us in and our three cats, two bunnies and a parrot for 6 months. Now thats good friends! And now Clay and Lisa are selling us a silver 97 Nissan Sentra for 700 dollars! Happy Unbirthday to me!!!! (the best part is I don't have to go shopping on Sunday)

Thought I would share this little tidbit from earlier today. Darn her she is right way to often.

[11:56] temperama: You did it again btw
[11:56] indra: what?
[11:56] temperama: I started my period today
[11:56] indra: i did what again?
[11:56] indra: *rolls eyes* i did not start your period for you
[11:56] temperama: It annoys the snot out of me when you blame my emotions on hormones and then annoys me more when you are right
[11:57] indra: rofl
[11:57] indra: sorry baby you are irrational all on your own but i KNOW those irrational bits of you and can pick out the hormone driven addons

Happy Birthday to me

2008-03-12T18:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a horrible day. It was my birthday. I loathe and hate my birthday. I have a horrible history with them, the first one I remember I gave myself a headache. Another one I got Chicken pox from one of the guests. I have had birthday parties where even my own cousins didn't show up. I had an angle food cake with a 45 degree angle on top. All in all not a good experience. But I think for pure misery yesterday has to have been in the top 5. I waited all day for Indra to wish me a happy birthday and it was almost 9 pm before she finally did. She was online by 12 and talked to me then nothing. All day others said Happy Birthday but nothing from the most important person in my life. It hurt and I was miserable. She didn't do it on purpose she just didn't want to say Happy Birthday while I was at work. I got home and we cuddled and I felt better. And next time she will know that I am a fragile flower filled with angst and insecurities.

The end of the world has come I found chocolate that I refuse to eat. This is me who will eat baking chocolate in a pinch. But Black and Green Organic chocolate sucks ass! It has this floral after taste that reminds me of lilacs or that nasal spray they keep trying to give me for allergies (and what sadist thought allergy medicine that smelled like flowers was a good idea). And before you ask, it wasn't just me, everyone I shared it with agreed, what a waste of money.

I saw a woman today with gorgeous hair. She was black (of course) and had these silver braids. They were thick and wrapped around her head into a coil / knot / bun on the back of her neck. Some days I really do wish I was black, they can do some of the coolest things with their hair and get away with outfits I can only dream of wearing. That and it would be nice to fry after 5 seconds in the sun.

I have been feeling particularly needy recently. Which means I want to go shopping and buy chocolate and books at a minimum. And I would really like to go splurge on things for me. I am hoping Birthday cake (chocolate with peanut butter frosting) homemade chicken and egg noodles with mashed potatoes, and a new car this weekend will take care of these urges.

PS: Almost forgot. Here is the quote of the week.

"Luck is my middle name," said Rincewind, indistinctly. "Mind you, my first name is Bad."
-- (Terry Pratchett, Interesting Times)

In No Particular order...

2008-03-11T17:47:00.000-07:00

I worked both days this weekend (and both days last weekend) and I will admit it is getting to me and I really need some down time (I have Sunday off). The was unable to go car shopping this weekend because Lisa got sick (and I worked) so that will be this coming weekend. I am actualy kind of hoping for Saturday rather then Sunday.

We were talking about the price of food this weekend at work. I said if I was paying 11 buck for a meal it had better include Indra and kissing. Brenden made a comment about it being a cheap date. I of course pointed out the by the time you add in drinks desert and a movie for two it wasn't that cheap. Besides Indra Loves me I can get kisses for McDonalds, and she hates McDonalds. A couple other guys agreed with me and poor Brendon was reminded of his status as a single guy.

NPR has a show called Radio Lab that I love! Saturday the show was about laughter. What I found interesting was this story about a laughing epidemic on the shores of Lake Victoria. Well that and the fact that most of the time we laugh it isn't because of something funny accourding to studies. Apparently laughing is a social que that translates in part to look at me being all non threatening, playful and safe. Which explains why it is so creepy when a bad guy laughs.

E is for Eleven Eclectic Easter Egg bunny cozies!!!

2008-03-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

E is for Eleven Eclectic Easter Egg bunny cozies!! Font is Eskargot.

Go to
Flickr to see the rest. I will be giving all the bunnies away, so if you would like one drop me an email (Tblackthorne@gmail.com) with your address and a description of the bunny you desire. Friends have first pick, and I will tag the bunnies taken as I get requests.

Ain't we got fun

2008-03-06T10:50:00.000-08:00

Here is the entry you didn't get yesterday...

I was in a great mood all day. I had enough sleep the weather was beautiful, after the snow monday night Wed reached a balmy 70 degrees of sun and gentle breezes. I got to work and unloaded my stash of scrap yarn for more bunnies and it sent me into a yarngasm. All those pretty colors and textures were mine all mine. I have absolutely no idea what I am going to do with all these bunnies but I am having fun making them. And then it only got better. MORE yarn came by mail! I was bouncy and singing and my co workers were running scared! it was glorious!

There is enough money in the bank, barely kinda whatever, And so I am going car shopping this weekend. While I would absolutely love a mini cooper, there is no way it is in the budget, it is just too new. So I have made a list of requirements, in order of importance.

1. It must be reliable
2. It should cost between 300 and 500 down with payments between 100 and 200.
3. It should be fuel effecient
4. I need air conditioning (since we live in TX)
5. Since it does occasionaly get cold Heat would be nice too.
6. I would love something that wasn't old enough to drink. heck anything under 10 yrs old would be wonderful.
7. And lastly it would be nice if it was pretty.

Now after the stupendous day yesterday we have today. Also a good day, but unfortunately colder. Much colder. Winter storm advisory cold, sleet at the moment but ice soon cold. Soooo I will most likely get sent home early and may not be in tomorrow! I have always loved snow days.

happy day

2008-03-05T18:47:00.000-08:00

today was a great day, started on a yarn high and got almost an hour 30 of overtime. I was busy though so no journaling, just a quote, since it is wednsday.

FYI: As a sidenote, I think Endpoint was written by a bunch of LSD druged up chimpanzees with laptops in a cross genetic experiment Norton and
Symantec are conducting... but this is just me...

This is from our knowledge base at work, just to show not everything good comes from fanfic.

Snow Day

2008-03-04T17:32:00.000-08:00

It snowed last night! (see picture on left, that was in McKinney) Actually Snow! Not the usual ice pellets and rain they get here and think is snow. Granted it was pretty much gone by noon, but while it was here it was real honest to God snow. I made a threw my first snowball in years, it made a very satisfying splat, the only thing that could have made it better was a human target rather then the building.

Yesterday started cold and just kept getting colder. So I took my poor shivering self to The Olive Garden for lunch. I love their soup and salad deal, it is about the same price as a decent burger, fries and a coke (I blame TX, it was soda til I came here). And the best part is the soup. Zuppa Tuscano and Pasta Faguli, One warms you up the other fills you up! I thought I had died and gone to heaven, a couple bowls of soup, some bread sticks and I was full and warm all the way through. It was perfect. I really need to figure out how to make the Zuppa Tuscano (I have a Pasta Faguli recipe).

And lastly, all this weather changes is making me sick... again. I am not sure if it is just drainage or the beginnings of something like strep but I am pretty sure it is not getting better and that I am not going to like it.

Spell checks back!!!!!

All in a row

2008-03-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

This picture is the only reason for this post

Look at all the little bunnies in a row. So sweet. And the little white one is angora and oh so soft.

Answers

2008-03-02T10:27:00.000-08:00

Ok so apparently I am warped cause consensus says I am the only one who saw a hairy boob. In my defense I beleive the word Breast was part of my image search (I was looking for a knitting pattern, don't remember which one now).

So another question What kind of person that has a liscence plate number of SUBARU and drives a Chevy? Some days the drive to work can be quite entertaining. For instance they changed all the hockey signs to Baseball signs and there is a new one that says 'Souvenir is French for Foul Ball'. It always makes me smile.

I have been knitting Easter egg cozies, they are fun and adorable and there will be pictures soon. But the reason I brought it up is I made one of them with recycled angora and why did no one ever tell me how wonderful this stuff is. It is almost orgasmic to knit with I swear.

Q and A

2008-02-28T17:21:00.001-08:00

'How do you stop depreciating a dead goat?' has got to be my all time favorite question here. And gives you a fair Idea of the insanity I face daily. Now I have asked alot of people here that question and got a lot of answers but no one has answered the real question, why were they depreciating a dead goat to start with and why stop? did it suddenly become not dead?

And then there is this picture. I came across it browsing Google and at first glance I thought it was a breast. Actualy the thought that went through my head was 'huh, I didn't know hobbits had hairy tits' So am I the only one that sees a hairy boob when you look at the picture?

I set up direct deposit but for some strange reason got a paper check today. So tomorrow I have to hit the bank and deposit it. I hope next time it is straightened out because personaly it is annoying.

Over the hill.

2008-02-27T17:15:00.000-08:00

Here it is Wendsday again and time for another quote.

“He said ‘lets go’,” explained George, “when you get to know Fred as long as I have you’ll eventually learn his stuffed face language. The easiest one is where his eyes bulge and he starts trying to slap his own back, that means he is choking.”

As you may have noticed spell check is not working in blogger so you are seeing my original spelling, scary isn't it.

Looking over my past several posts I realize I haven't been posting that often and when I do it isn't that long. Sorry. I will try to improve, cause I do have stuff to say, just keep putting it off. So here you go something I have been saving up.

See the picture of the big moth (trust me it is a very very big moth) When I was about 7 I found one of those. It had aparently just came out of its cocoon because it's wings had not unfurled yet. I thought it was a huge spider with red stripes and figured anything that big with red stripes couldn't be good and ran for mom. She came out ready to save me only to find a moth instead of a spider. We captured it and called the newspaper. We had a big picture in the paper, the only downside was my brother and sister were in the picture too and moths really don't make good pets regardless of their size.

The end.

D if for Dog.

2008-02-26T10:19:00.000-08:00

D is for Dog, Font is Delta Hey Max Nine, Dog is Tank

Isn't he a Cutey?

Happy Birthday!

2008-02-22T08:32:00.000-08:00

Our handfasting, you can't see it here but in all the pictures we have there is a halo over our heads.

My lovely wonderful Indra is 31 today. And if I was a bit more patient there would be dance gifs and midi's to celebrate this. But for now you will have to be satisfied with a picture or two.

Now does she look 31?

Lawn Soup

2008-02-20T16:29:00.000-08:00

Lots of Rain this weekend meant our lawn was soup. Squishy lawn is just wrong in my book, it didn't even have the decency to puddle. Speaking of the weather I have been under it and am getting darn tired of it. Being miserable is no fun and there is not enough chocolate in the world to make throwing up ok.

On a bright note I offer this picture as proof that I am not the only one who has shoved a kitten under their boob to prove their boobs are big enough to store said kitten (the kitten fit under mine better). In my defense I was very sick at the time, and it does take a very laid back kitten.

Now for the Quote of the day!... I bet you thought I forgot :)

Not one to argue with a bleeding man holding a wet cat, Xander hadn’t
objected to Larry’s choice of names. Though he had been partial to calling it Spike.

Good advice, never argue with someone holding a wet cat.

An Indra Loves Temper Time Poem.

2008-02-13T16:13:00.000-08:00

To my lovely Temperance, a poem:

"Love Temper. Way too much. Mostly silly."

Love, Indra.

*Nods to Michael Pollan for the structure.

Hump Day

2008-02-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

I have decided that Wednesday is Quote Day! Why? because I have all these quotes to share and Monday and Friday are too busy to do it then. Keep in mind that the majority of these come from either Buffy or Harry Fanfic, and I am not going to attribute most of them because I don't remember where I got them.

Here is the first quote of the day...

“Gorgonzilla?” Ron asked as the map swung open. “What is that?”
“A type of animated cheese.” She answered confidently. “From Milan.”
“Animated cheese?” Harry asked, confused. “Why would anyone animate cheese?”
“Strangely enough, it was created as a surveillance and assassination tool at the bidding of a man named Metternich. He didn’t want to be traced, so he went through Milanese wizards, but a combination of bad luck and bad choices exposed him to—“

Some quotes are better, some are worse, but they all amused me.

I sent of My contributions to Purlescence's storyteller competition. It cost me 48 dollars. 48 dollars! Thats alot of yarn (or chocolate). I learned two things from this experience, it is cheaper not to procrastinate and pen pals in foreign countries are a bad idea. I almost decided not to send it, but I really wanted to be in the textile exhibit they have going and I had already told them I was sending the stuff.

I went back to the Dr yesterday because the bronchitis was still making me huff and puff. The Dr gave me an inhaler to use twice a day and told me if that didn't do it they could always shoot me. The inhaler has me a little nervous, there was a long list of rules for its use that summed up was hazardous substance use only if you are already dying. And it tastes bad.

On the way back I stopped and picked up my glasses. As soon as I have a picture I will share, cause they look good on me! Unfortunately the left lens has the wrong prescription and the ear pieces are loose so the glasses keep sliding down. But that is easy enough to fix, it will just have to be later, I am busy now.

C is for Cat

2008-02-12T12:40:00.001-08:00

C is for Cat in Chains. Font is Colonna MT, Cat is Velvet

The chain just happened to be lying around and was the perfect touch. I have so few pictures of Velvet, since it is so hard to take a decent picture of a black cat. And I really wish I had the foresite to take more shots of this, like a closer one or one with a better background.

Hack

2008-02-09T10:14:00.000-08:00

I got Bronchitus and have been miserable. So this is the first day I have actualy had enough brain to blog.

I had things I wanted to blog about, but at the moment I can't remember them. So I am going to go with a couple of random thoughts and call it a day.

We got Indra's computer fixed, Her CPU was wearing a big fur coat (which is bad) cleaned that off and it stopped overheating.

I took the car to be inspected and was told it needed help. A lot of help. Carborator needs fixed, master cylinder, brake pads, and a couple other things. Total about 1,000, and then it 'may' pass inspection (maybe not). For a free car it is being awfully expensive and I really don't have the money.

I want to upgrade my Flickr so I can have more sets.

I want to be back in my own home.

I want to learn how to keep my mouth shut.

Indra has said somethings that really irratated me recently. She has done the whole 'see I was right thing' about things I had said originally. Then after I gave up trying to convince her she comes back with the 'you were wrong thing' when she is saying what I said all along! So she doesn't listen to me and then goes to an outside source and then claims I was wrong when she says the same thing I did from the begining! It makes me very upset.

I'm blind!

2008-02-01T17:44:00.000-08:00

Isn't this picture gorgeous? And just for Indra I have linked it to the flickr page I got it from (thanks to Cute Overload).

I started on some fingerless gloves for me today. because A. my fingers are darn cold and B. I am not in the mood to work on socks. I have to get the socks finished this weekend if I am going to however. Talk about pressure. And I need to remeasure Celebration before I continue knitting. Anouther weekend project, I think I will steal one of Lisa's shirts and do that Sunday.

As I was planning my knitting I was reminded of my Play it Forward I am looking forward to figuring out what to make and send. I still need two more people to sign up though.

I didn't post yesterday because I spent most of the day changing my blog. It is now 100 pixels wider! But on my computer the paper background has a small jog on the upper right hand side that is driving me crazy! I can't figure out what is causing it or how to get rid of it. Indra doesn't see it on her computer but I see it on Frog's. Any ideas?

I want my glasses, Now that I know how much my perscription has changed I feel even blinder then usual. Now it might just be my sinuses giving me hell due to the weather. Or lack of sleep. but the bottom line is my monitor is to far away for me to see clearly, heck the bottom line is fuzzy too come to think of it.

And a last little bit of goodness, brought to you by Cute Overload.
Feltidermy! its disturbingly cute!

looking for a silver lining

2008-01-30T12:33:00.000-08:00

I am mightily peeved with the car situation. Once again I thought I had everything ready to go and I was thwarted, by an evil government conspiracy! Evil, I say! Apparently The car was registered in Fannin county where the lucky people don't do emissions testing. So I have to get the car inspected so it can pass the emissions test before they will transfer the title. It is almost enough to make me go straight so I could tell some man it is his job to take care of the darn car!

To top off this badness Indra's computer is heading down hill fast. We are not sure what it is but it is giving her blue screens of death periodically through out the day (about once an hour). So this weekend in my copious free time I get to dig around in computer innards to find out what needs replaced. I just hope it is something cheap.

And... My elf shoe toe is just not pointing. I have tried several different things and started multiple times to no avail. I even resorted to browsing Ravelry for ideas, I was not reassured when I saw what currently is available in pointy toes. It was sad, and I will do better. Unfortunately I have a deadline I need to figure it out this weekend so I can send it in.

Goodness is just around the corner though. (see above: pick axe cosy pictures). And I have my kismet lace pattern mostly figured out (including what yarn to use). I have decided socks are my next project until I get a better handle on short rows, cause currently they are giving me a headache. And hey, Socks, everyone needs socks right? Though I have been seriously contemplating doing some quick fingerless gloves for work here one day when I am not so sinusy.

I am really looking forward to getting my glasses. I am hoping it will help with the headaches and itchy dry eyes. Sides I picked out cool glasses besides using my favorite frames for computer glasses. The big problem is going to be keeping the animals from playing with them and me from loosing / stepping on them.

picking up where I left off

2008-01-28T18:16:00.000-08:00

I am blind. Its true I went to the optician this weekend and my eyes (or rather my left eye) is rather significantly blinder then my last appointment 2 yrs ago. I was at a -7 for both eyes, now the right is 7.25 and the left is 9.25.

Now for a bit of randomness. From my wonderful lovely and talented Indra comes this gem... If I want a man I will call Dean (our handyman, or 'Husband for Hire' as we call him) or read a romance novel. I told her I didn't think Dean did those kind of house calls.

Also from the love of my life comes my blogs new look, doesn't she just spoil me? I love my template.

Linda sent cereal home Saturday and I seriously considered eating a bowl of each kind last night. But I was good, and waited til this morning to have a bowl of Captain Crunch (I use to eat a bowl every morning duringUpward Bound). Tonight I am going to have Honey Nut Cheerios. I am in cereal heaven!

Speaking of food, I was eating oven toasted garlic bread with tomato and boiled egg on it seasoned with a little garlic salt and a co-worked said it was disgusting and he had to go before he threw up. What is the world coming too, it wasn't even one of my odder combinations.

And finally these are just two good not to share Luna's Hubby and Larceny Lechery and Luna Lovegood. Two great Luna / Harry fics.

Cutie Pie

2008-01-25T17:31:00.000-08:00

Linkage today cause I got stuff that is just too good not to share. Like these Knit Cupcakes, or the Eglu from Omlet, even the names are cute. And then there are gems like this.. The daily Coyote. Of Course we can't forget the King of cute, Cute Overload!

The weather is miserable, Indra is miserable and I am not happy about either situation. I am making remarkable progress on Celebration (secret project for Lisa) it is soooo pretty! (pictures on flickr) And I finally got pictures of my Pick Axe cosy to upload tomorrow. And I think perhaps the best thing is I will have Saturday evening to myself! I am really really looking forward to that. Oh and eye appointment on Sat so pictures of me with my favorite glasses soon.

Star Light, Star Bright

2008-01-22T15:41:00.000-08:00

Heather said she saw Starla last night. I want to believe her, really I do. But this is the same person that can't tell Cookie and Samantha apart. Cookie is male and has white toes and front and the longest tail I have ever seen. Samantha, on the other hand, is female, pure black and has no tail. Granted Heather isn't around that much and when the cats are curled up it is hard to see feet and tails. SO, did she really see Starla? I don't know but I am going to keep my eyes open and hope like all hell she shows up.

I really wish we had more pictures of our pets. But neither Indra or I are the picture taking type usually (we go through spurts). It doesn't help any that the puppies are so wiggly and that we tend towards black cats. It is nearly impossible to get a good picture of a black cat with a crappy little camera like we have and indoor lights.

All this talk about pet pictures and the luscious images on the blogs I visit has made me want my own little Flickr photo thing on the side of my blog and maybe some links to favorite places. I have looked and can't figure it out though. :( suckage. My lovely template comes from Indra and I adore it. But I am thinking maybe I should think about changing. Maybe something green.....

Tickle me pink.

2008-01-21T15:05:00.000-08:00

Saturday night Indra and I went to Halfprice Books and got loot! I got 'Why Paint Cats' as opposed to 'Why Cats Paint'. I absolutely adore it, I have carried it around the last two days to show everyone. Snopes says its a Hoax. Me, I'm not sure, Cause I am pretty sure if there wasn't before there is now. I Know If I had access to some neutralized or organic peroxide my black cats would be decorated.

Ok, I have googled all day. And the lack of anything resembling confirmation leads me to believe it is a hoax. And you know what this makes me sad. And somehow a little disappointed that the world isn't as magical as I thought.

Vindication! it may not be pretty patterns but it sure sounds colorful.

Amused

2008-01-19T14:20:00.001-08:00

On the way to work this morning I saw a bumper sticker I thought was particularly apt. Someone that is Smarter for President. It is so true. that is all I really want, someone who is smarter for President.

This morning seemed to be my day to be amused as I received this little gem in my mailbox. (I signed up for freecycle in the interests of a balanced budget)

12) NO OFFERING YOURSELF OR YOUR CHILDREN!
Recycling oneself (or friends/husband) is, I'm afraid, not allowed. There are many fine Internet sites better suited to this purpose. Recycling kids is not on the menu either, no matter how crazy they make you sometimes!

Isn't it good I am so easily amused?

B is for Beautiful

2008-01-19T09:04:00.000-08:00

B is for Blossom and Betty sister designs, Font is Bradley Hand ITC, These are the first items I designed myself

This is my B picture for the ABC along I signed up for. I loved the way Blossom turned out and plan to make some alterations and give her a brother, Bud before I share the patterns. She is meant to be used for those first newborn pictures, something fancy and impractical that makes the baby that much more adorable. forget stocking caps and onsies, This is the way to go!

The Secret of Cozies!!!

2008-01-18T17:28:00.000-08:00

I have discovered the secret of the Cozy. It is not hideous acrylic yarn in garish colors it is RUFFLES! You know I am finding this whole Pick axe cozy thing fun. I may have to make more cozies so I can explore the relationship between gaudy acrylic yarns and ruffles that produce kitchy goodness. I think next it will be a mailbox cozy.

Last night I stopped by Whole Foods for Esther. That place is Evil! Evil I tell you. They greeted me with a blast of hot air that smelled Divine and then led me on a merry chase through aisles of overpriced specialty goods I would love to try. I mean come on, grind your own peanut butter? its just too much. And then there is their whole bakery/bistro/food thing. It was 8:30 at night I was starved. I managed to get away with just a slice of BBQ chicken pizza, but Damn was it GOOOOD! There was crispy bacon on it and melty cheese and real onion bits. and none of it tasted like it came from the supermarket produce section. I also got a sample of Turkish delight, I have been curious about it for a while but unwilling to pay 10 bucks a pound. It was good, and the lemon sugar was nice but not worth the money in my book.

Some where in all the talking Esther and I did last night I realized I had graduated from caretaker to enabler where Indra is concerned. Not a happy realization, but with any luck I will be over this phase soon. Make me wonder what role is Indra playing in my life?

I have been browsing Ravelry this week and I am scared. Cause I live in Texas most sweaters just don't look like they are worth the time to knit. And I am not a shawl type person, have no children and refuse to knit for the dog. All that leaves is socks, and I don't wanna be a sock knitter! Not that I have anything against socks. Socks can be quite nice but it is like knitting nothing but scarves for the rest of your life. I would go crazy! (well crazier). I am thinking Lace might be a good thing to knit especially if I get involved with the SCA like Esther and I have been talking about. I think though I just need to move somewhere cooler.

Winter wonderland

2008-01-17T17:21:00.000-08:00

It was and is COLD. Darn Cold in fact. And more then a bit windy. I was not happy this morning. I was cold, I stopped to get gas and opted to pay inside so I could warm my hands over their hot dogs and other assorted hot foods. It made me wonder how fast I could knit a ski mask or a nose warmer at the very least. I didn't get warm til I got to work and got a hot chocolate from the cafeteria, it was made with steamed milk and was really more like hot milk with a hint of chocolate, but boy was it good. Next time I need marshmallows though.

I had plenty of time since I didn't get to register the car (get to try to do that again tomorrow) so I stopped by Lowes to measure their pickaxes. On the way out I browsed there garden department, they had all their stuff out for spring planting. It made my fingers itch to buy things to plant, never mind that it was freezing outside and I am a lousy gardener. They had Peonies and Raspberries and all sorts of lovelies. And I love Peonies and Raspberries and have never been able to find them in Texas before. But I was strong and resisted temptation.

Today has been slow at work so I have spent time browsing Flickr and Ravelry. Random searches are great things. they let me find things like this series of pictures. Zoo Keeper Says. All these images, funny and otherwise, really make me wish I was better with a camera so I could share the things I see with others.

Tuchus, cause its fun...

2008-01-16T17:33:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is going to be a very long day. I have to get up at 6 so I can go register the car. then head over to work. After work I am taking Esther shopping for groceries. If I am lucky I will be home before 11. :( I am not looking forward to it.

I am not anywhere near where I want to be budget wise and it is making me unhappy. This whole budget thing has me on edge. So I have resolved that things will change. I am not sure on the how, exactly, but the when is now. I am resisting my urges to buy non essentials really hard. And Saturday I am opening another bank account and a savings account. then I am automatically depositing 500 from every paycheck in the pay bills account and the rest goes to living expenses and extra. I will of course re-evaluate this when I have time to look at the actual money but not right now.

Now for some happier thoughts. so far the whole new yr resolution thing is going well. Last night Indra looked so pretty with a pink tuchus.

Acrylic Blech!

2008-01-11T15:45:00.000-08:00

Ok so here it is the very rare knitting post. I have started knitting on my Pick Axe cozy. In the interest of money (and bright colors) I went with Red Heart Acrylic. And I am here to tell you it is horrible stuff. All plasticy and harsh. very blechy and icky and just plain old disgusting. I can't imagine why someone would willingly knit with this stuff. ::shivers::

apparently my usage of the word disappointing in my last post needs explanations, I am not disappointed in what I receive, I am actually disappointed before I even receive anything. Perhaps disappointed isn't the best word, but it is the only one I can think of. I just don't like gifting occasions.

this n that

2008-01-09T16:34:00.000-08:00

I wore my shirt inside out all day yesterday and no one said anything, not even my lovely Indra. It was a button up so they can't even use the excuse it looked the same both ways. I would like to say I would have noticed, but you know I am not sure.

I have decided to reduce my stress levels by telling everyone not to give me presents for Xmas or my birthday. To quote Indra if I don't expect anything I can't be disappointed. More importantly I don't have to worry about where the money is coming from. Not to say people can't get me things, I like things, just not for my Birthday or Xmas. It really really will help my stress levels.

Did you know that a handful of tinfoil will scrape that frost right off your windshield with out making your hands all cold and wet?

Tax season is officially here, overtime and all. So it is time to say adios to any chance at a life. I am not ready for this, actually make that sooo not ready. :(

that age old problem

2008-01-08T17:18:00.000-08:00

I am getting old. My knee has started creaking, I am getting wrinkles, Everyone around me is getting younger all the time, And food I use to love gives me indigestion (Ie: I am farting more). I am to young to be old, I don't like this. And I am not sure what to do about it. I still feel like I should be 20 something not 30 something and isn't 30 something to young to be old? I should be hitting my stride not getting set in my ways. So I want to lodge a formal protest to whoever is in charge of these things. Just because I knit does not mean I am granny material quite yet.

Spell with Flickr

A is for Apple

2008-01-07T08:53:00.000-08:00

A is for Apple, Font is Algerian, Apple Cozy can be found here

This is my A picture for the ABC along I signed up for. Eventualy I will figure out how to put the little button on my blog. antil then there will be one letter every two weeks or so.

News and notes

2008-01-04T17:02:00.000-08:00

So lets recap what I have learned this past month.

Lets start with Xmas. I love Xmas, I hate everything before Xmas day though. I don't like decorating, I hate the time crunch on my baking (even though I usually love baking), I don't like the pressure to find the right gifts, I hate the financial stress of all the present buying and baking supplies and everything else. I hate the uncertainty of gift giving (and receiving). Basically Xmas and Valentines day both make me want to curl up and hide. (My Indraz make holidays better)

On the upside my Xmas baking was pretty successful. I made Caramels and Fudge and learned that browning the butter before hand makes the carmels taste better but the butter needs cooled and added later (also marchino cherries are devine in fudge, next yr I need to find some little molds to make them in). I discovered that enough milk in the top layer of GaStSq's makes it spread really nice and tempering the egg before adding makes it not as likely to separate. I learned chocolate covered bacon is definitely tasty but is probably better not combined (I am willing to give it another go though). I found that date pinwheel cookies are easier then I remembered and just as good. And while Honey Cookies always sound so good they just never quite live up to expectations.

I have learned that yes B12 really really makes a difference in my energy levels. And that yes sleep and proper nutrition are important (for some reason I keep forgetting this). I have learned that when playing Santa with more then one person clear and constant communication can save all sorts of things, money, sanity, time..... And Hopefully I have learned that I can not knit fast enough to make presents for everyone (especially if I start in Nov.)

The rest of these I are just thing that made me think, what is not important but if I reach any conclusions I will let you know. Apparently spanking your laptop will make it boot faster. Publishers clearing house is having a drawing for 5,000 a week for life (and why is life usually defined as 20 yrs?, I really expect to live alot longer then that). And do you really want to compare your company / product to a Cadillac? Sure it has bells and whistles and is luxurious, but it is not responsive, fast or maneuverable.