Just cause I like to do what everyone else does...

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Maybe this will make me feel better

So, yesterday was Malik's birthday. And Bring Your Child to Work Day. He loved being here. I made him do the mail, and had him help me (some) with the filing. We went to Macaroni Grill for lunch. I told the waiter that it was his birthday. At the end of our meal, he brought a (maybe) 4 inch square piece of chocolate cake with a candle in it.

Then, DeAndre' had a baseball game. This was not a scheduled game, but rather a REscheduled game. They were rained out on Saturday. Mind you, we live in Oregon, and it rains here. Both boys have had a few rain-outs. None are rescheduled EXCEPT the one that falls on Malik's birthday. So, at 8:?? whenever we left the game, we went home and had some cake and presents. Then we told the boys the good news. Therefore, we didn't get to bed until 10:30. Today I am EXHAUSTED!!!!!!!!! I am usually tired on Fridays, but this is crazy.

PLUS, tomorrow is baseball pictures for both boys and games for both boys. We have to be at the park at 8:00 in the am. Plus, we have the real party for Malik tomorrow night. Which means I have to wake up even earlier, to start the spaghetti sauce. Plus, some last minute house-cleaning. I think I hate baseball season.

Malik liked his teddy bear - yes, I finished it - well, mostly. At the moment, he has no eyes, or a mouth, and no fingers or toes. So, I will finish it up someday. He took it to bed with him last night, so I can't do it now. (darn!)

BTW... The boys didn't say much when we told them, I think it has to sink in a bit.

PS..."make me feel better" is because I am sooo tired, I don't think I can make it another hour at work today. I had hoped this would cheer me up or something - I don't think it worked.

Have a good weekend all! I plan to have a good Sunday, anyway.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MALIK!!!!!!!!!!!

So, my oldest baby is TEN today! In honor of said special day, here is a bit of a pictoral timeline:


6 months-ish


Maybe 1 year


3 years old with his then new brother.


Age 5 with a new found dad!

My boss

I really like my boss (when he is not driving me crazy - which he is very good at)! For secretary's day he just came back from lunch and gave me a $100 Visa gift card. How sweet!!!

Finally some progress!

So I worked on Malik's teddy bear last night and this morning on MAX. I made both arms, both ears and all of the nose, except I have to pull the yarn through the last set of stitches to finish it. Then I can assemble it then I AM DONE!!! Maybe I can finish the whole thing tonight and still give it to him tomorrow - we will see how I feel after a baseball game.

I feel so good about it right now!

Maybe writing my goals down like that is a good thing!

Goals

So, I SUCK at completing things. I know a lot of us do, but I really suck! I have been trying to figure out how to fix this. I just was reading a new-to-me Portlander blog. And it seems to me that every week she sets goals for herself, and then reviews them at the end of the week. Because this is Tuesday, I will attempt to do this every Tuesday. I feel soooo good when I finish something, and I still have not finished anything for myself, except the socks from H-E-double hockey stick. So here goes...

1. Socks from Secret Pal - I have to start the second one, and then after I am finished with it, I can use it to fix the first one. I love this yarn, it is so soft. I can't wait to wear them.
2. Actually, first should be Malik's birthday bear. His birthday is Thursday and today is Tuesday. I made fair progress on Sunday night, but last night I felt awful and didn't even think about working on it. I am done with the knitting of the body, legs and head. I need to stitch it together. Then I need to knit the ears, arms, and nose and put it together. His birthday is Thursday and his party is Saturday. He might be getting it on Saturday.
3. DeAndre's Socks - I am making good progress on these, cause it is the only thing I am bringing with me anywear.
4. Mariah - Oh, how I love thee. I really wanted her to be done by Malik's birthday, but that is not going to happen. I am in the yoke, but I don't pick it up often.
5. Dad's sweater - I was going along just fine on this, now it is in the bottom of my favorite bag, calling to me from time to time - no worries, though, because I don't have to finish this until June.
6. Molly's blanket and pillow set - no worries, again, as this isn't due until September. I am about 1/3 of the way done with the squares for the blanket.
7. My poor, poor blue sweater. This should have been done two years ago. I screwed up and don't know how to fix it. Some day I will bring it to a LYS and get some advice. This one will be on the list for a long time.
8. My fair isle hat. I only have to finish the crown.

Given the fact that we have baseball games (too cold lately to knit outside), and a birthday party, and I have been feeling so crappy, I am only aiming to finish Malik's teddy bear. I might also get DeAndre's socks done.

PLEASE WISH ME LUCK!!!

My Darling Husband

So, a friend of mine suggest I join Classmates, cause our obscure American High School in Germany is listed. So I did. I already knew that my DH was a member, so I looked him up after I was a member, and I read his bio. Here is what he said...

Well, I can honestly say my life began 4 years ago. I met a beautiful women on line and she changed my really sad life around. When we married, I began a new life as a husband, father and a responsible person. I still think about my high school days at Grant, but my new life as a father is so much more rewarding. Every now and then I see someone from the old days and they tell me how they are doing...I then realize that I am the richest man in the world...I have a family and that is what I wanted since I was 16 years old.

I am soooo in love.

Click here

...if you subscribe with Bloglines, so you can see my baby ticker at the top of my blog.

I have my last class for my Fair Isle Hat tomorrow. We are to do the decreases. I am almost done up to that point. It is not the most attractive Fair Isle, as it is my first try, but I accept that, and am going along quite quickly. I really only started it on Monday. I am proud of my first attempt.


Fair Isle Hat

Here is my chart I created in Excel:


Chart

I have been sooooo hungry this week. And if I don't eat, I get dizzy, and a headache, and.....

Have a good weekend.

I got a convert!

So I went to visit my neighbor yesterday to invite her to Malik's party, and give her the big news. When I walked in, I got a big surprise! She was knitting! Her church had a one time only one or two hour class. She took it because she knew I knitted, and she knew she could come to me if she needed help. I was soo excited! Now, someone who is a friend is also a knitter - my first!

Baby news.
I drink - no, am addicted to - coffee. I know you are not supposed to drink coffee when you are pregnant, but it is said that you can have up to four cups. (That is measuring cups, not mugs.) My goal is not to go over two cups. Yesterday I felt awful, then it went away, then I felt awful, again. I figured that it maybe had started around the time I drank some coffee. So, I was more careful today and ate something at the same time as I drank coffee, and I don't feel awful!

It is amazing to me that the day I start having problems - headaches, must eat more, going to the bathroom more - is the same day I get a test back positive. It is like the power of suggestion. I had no problems on Friday. Starting Saturday (I took the test at 5:30 am - I was having problems sleeping, due to pending excitement, or let-down), I have had all those problems.

Also, the last two times I was pregnant I had only one problem. None with Malik, but with DeAndre' I needed to eat some Tums sometimes. Otherwise, nothing! No morning sickness, no headaches, whatever else people get who are pregnant and not me. Oh well, I guess this one will be more fun!

Long post

So, Thursday night I got a gift from my Secret Pal. It was some great Knit Picks Color your Own yarn, some Kool-Aid, some Starburst which my husband LOVED! (I did, too.), and some wonderful smelling soaps! I took pictures on my phone, but for some reason I can't get them to send.

I was going to post about this on Friday, but I thought I might have some news, but I didn't know for sure, so I knew if I posted, I would blab. So, I bit my tounge. However, now I KNOW I have some news, so I will share. Sometime around December 17, there will be a new addition to our family. I'm so excited that I went to Target on Sunday and registered. I don't want to tell my job, yet, since Marcus doesn't have a job right now (looking, but not finding). April 28 is Bring your Child to Work Day, and Malik is coming with me, and he has a big mouth, so I can't tell the boys until after that. Also, the 28th is Malik's tenth birthday!!!

I thought this would be longer, but I guess not.

ODC

So, I just recently found out what OKC means - Obligatory Knitting Content. I was reading this blog and realized that while I am a member of the Purling Puppies Webring, but Maisy, my precious has been missing from my posts for quite awhile. So, I decided to add some ODC - Obligatory Dog Content.

My dog is not dum - She isn't - I swear. However, she does not understand the power of cars. She doesn't realize that if one were to hit her, it would be all over. She thinks a car coming towards her (thank god we live on a street where the cars go real slow) means she has a friend to sniff. Mind you, she doesn't do this to a real, live human, just cars. We don't have any yard to speak of, so she kind of wanders around to do her business, but I won't let her go across the street, or to the neighbor's houses who I know or believe would be offended, or scared. (For those who are wondering, we ALWAYS clean up behind her - it is mandatory.)

Anyway, if there is one thing she would stop doing, it is that, I really don't like to put her on a leash so she can pee. But I might have to start.

Bad Knitting!

So yesterday was a very frustrating knitting evening. I was working on my sock from the yarn my SP4 sent me, and I got to a point in the pattern (Hellen’s favorite socks) that I don't quite understand (this being only my second pair of socks). So, I decided to work on something else (the best reason, ever, IMHO, to have lots of projects on the needles). I wanted to work on Malik's teddy bear that is due, now, in two weeks. I was stuck, but I asked at my new LYS and they walked me through it, so I thought I could do it. Turns out I was right and they were wrong. (Mind you, they had the book to look at, but I just dropped in, last minute, and didn't bring the project with me, so they only had the book.) So, I decided to cast on for my DS's sock, since he approved of the yarn. I am holding off my decision until I have worked at least an inch in the pattern, but I had to start over something like 4 times, and right now it is just a ball of yarn and some dpn's sitting next to it. Needless to say, I accomplished NOTHING!!!

Sock yarn

So I bought some sock yarn from my newest LYS. It is Lana Grossa self striping. I never wanted to try self striping. But, since this sock is for my 7 yo DS, who asked specifically for socks, I had to make sure I bought something with nylon and superwash. This fit the bill. I will make sure he likes the color before I cast on.

Continental

I tried to post this yesterday, but it wouldn't take...

So, I have to practice my Continental stitching before the next class of my hat. So, I am practicing on some Worsted-ish weight yarn with some Addi-esque needles. I am not getting it, and not getting it. I am doing everything right, and learning stuff, but it isn't clicking, yet. Then I get an A-ha moment! It is the greatest. I am still not fluent (so to speak), but "Oh! This is the best way for me to hold the yarn (So I take a picture to refer to, because I still forget everytime I put the needles down)!" I am soooo excited. You can tell I have recently gotten better, with this picture. I don't know what I was doing at the beginning, but it is now sooo much straighter.


Continental swatch

Ok, when did Blogger add this button "Recover Post?" Not only is it a great idea, but it actually works - imagine that!!!

This weekend

On Friday, I got an email that another LYS was opening. Actually, I already knew about this, but I got a newsletter, and they are planning knitting retreats at the coast! I can’t wait! If you would like to read the newsletter, it is here.

First thing Saturday morning I placed my first ever order from Knit Picks.com. I ordered enough yarn for a blanket and pillow set for my cousin’s wedding, a blanket for father’s day, and some extra for something for myself. All I bought was Wool of the Andes.

I ordered Mist for the father’s day blanket,

Mist


Wheat ,


Snickerdoodle , and


Chestnut for the blanket and pillow set and more Chestnut for me.

Saturday was soccer, except my son swore he put his cleats in his bag. However, he didn’t so he couldn’t play. He was okay with this as he got to meet his brother at his brother’s friend’s birthday party at Chuck E. Cheeses. We played there for a while, until the party was over, then they went to spend the night at my dad’s house, as we were supposed to go out with a friend Saturday night.

I then went to Tea with Teachers at my LYS. They have one every quarter, and this is the first time I have been able to go. They have samples of all the classes they are having, and you can talk to the teachers if you want. I wasn’t really impressed. Maybe I will go when there is a class I want to take.

Then I went to my class at another LYS clear across town. The class is for a Fair Isle hat. There are three ladies, the teacher and myself. One lady is a spinner. I showed a lot of interest in that. She said that she has three wheels, and loans them out occasionally. She is very active in Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival and gets her roving from local farmers. I am very interested in getting very friendly with her!!! I learned Continental stitch, but am not comfortable with it, yet. I also learned long tail cast on. I need to rib stitch for one inch before next week. I could have done this before the first class, and moved on from there. Since she did not show us purl in Continental, she wants us to do the ribbing however we are comfortable.

My friend was MIA, so we didn’t go out. My sister called, and we were going to watch a movie with her new boyfriend, but mid way through the conversation she crapped out on me and we ended up not going to a movie with her, as she wanted to go to a motorcycle show or something. (Please read “WTF is the point of a motorcycle show, and why in h-e-double-hockey-sticks does my sister want to go to that instead of a movie!??!”) So DH and I went to Target where he purchased some CD’s and DVD’s. Then we went grocery shopping and to the video store to rent some videos. We got Mr. 3000 and Closer. Can I please say that I thought Closer was not deserving of the slightest nod from the Academy? I wish I could get that 90 minutes of my life back.

So yesterday was the Portland Spring Yarn Swap. For an update, you can go here. I was late, so I didn’t get the opportunity to look at the things that were available. And I got to pick first. I missed out on a spindle and some roving. I expressed my regret to the person that I understood had brought the pack (it was not her), and she said that she thought there might be a time when she would give up her spindle as she is not really interested in it. YEAH!!

I got a haul!


The haul

On the bed in front are two issues of Cast-On magazine. The issues are Fall 2002 and Winter 2004. I haven’t had time to look at them, yet. I only could find a pic of this one:


Cast on

Also in front is The Yarn Girls' Guide to Simple Knits. I did look at that. I think I will like a lot of the things in here. Except I have no bulky yarn, and that is all that is used in here. I also picked up one set of every size of needles. I don’t like straights, but I figured they would be good for the boys to learn with.

Plus, I got one ball of Lamb’s Pride Super wash in a grey. The person who brought it said that it would make one pair of socks, so that is what I will do. I got 7 skeins of Cascade Lana D’Oro and no project to use that for. 4 balls pink yarn and 4 balls white yarn packaged together with a pattern for Hoover from Knitty.com. Lastly, a slew of wool yarn (8 balls natural, 3 balls burgundy, and 3 balls gold. I think the burgundy and the gold were hand died). I think I will make an aran sweater with it. I will have to figure yardage. I hope the natural is enough, or else I don’t know how to incorporate the other colors in one sweater. Or I could tackle my first dye project with this. We will see. Or I could make Ribby Cardi.

I really feel like there is more I want to add, but I can't remember, soo....