Devilwmn's life

Daisy Miller

2010-11-30T06:42:00.000-08:00

I finished Daisy Miller. I have made Rory status on the Gilmore Girls reading challenge. I wasn't sure I was going to make it.

I didn't really like Daisy Miller. She was a very flat character. I didn't understand her at all. The whole story seemed kind of anti-climatic to me. It's like the tiny bags of chips. It leaves you unsatisfied and wishing for more....

Now I'm going to sign up for a new challenge. I don't really know why I'm doing it. I think because it has to do with classics and left to my own, I will just read a bunch of paranormal romances. At least this will make me read something more substantial. :)

Gilmore Girls reading Challenge

2010-11-22T11:59:00.000-08:00

I'm so far behind on posting about this! It's sad, really. I'm almost done. The challenge says that movies count, but I really wanted to read all the books. I have one book left to read. Here's my final list:

Classics
Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
Frankenstein, Mary Shelly
The Raven, Edgar Allen Poe

Children's/Young Adults
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Kate Douglas Wiggin

Modern Classics
Slaughterhouse 5, Kurt Vonnegut
A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams
Franny and Zooey, J. D. Salinger
Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett
1984, George Orwell

Non-fiction
I'm with the Band, Pamela Des Barres
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson
Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom
Helter Skelter, Bugliosi & Gentry
The Dirt, Lee/Neil/Mars/Sixx

Other
The Virgin Suicides, Jeffrey Eugenides
Love Story, Erich Segal
Valley of the Dolls, Jacqueline Susann
Rosemary's Baby, Ira Levin
Peyton's Place, Grace Metalious

That leaves me with one more to read. I have until Dec. 31 to finish reading Daisy Miller by Henry James. It's listed under the Modern Classics section. To get the Rory status you have to "Read 20 books from at least 4 different categories." I'll get that if I finish this one last book...

Slaughterhouse Five

2010-05-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

I finished another book in my Gilmore Girl's Challenge. I finished Slaughterhouse 5 by Vonnegut. It was an interesting book. It reminded me of a maze. You had to pay a lot of attention to where you are or you'll get lost. I'm glad I've read it. It wasn't the life-changing book that everyone seems to hype it as, but it wasn't bad either. I had a hard time with Mrs. Pilgrim. The narrator describes her as big and undesirable. For many scenes, Billy seems distant from her. Later, Billy looks back on her in a loving manner. Does he love her or not? I don't know why, but I feel as if I'm missing something...

I hate doing book reviews. I want to tell about the book without ruining it for anyone.

Helter Skelter

2010-05-06T05:59:00.000-07:00

This was an interesting book. You are really required to put away your logical thinking when dealing with it. Most people look for the why. There is no why with these horrible crimes. There is just a very sick man who found a way to get people to believe in him and do whatever he asked without question. That kind of mentality has always been interesting to me. It was neat to see how the prosecutor put the case together. It's also very sad to read about the ineptness of the police. They had pieces that they could never put together.

This is my fifth book in the Gilmore Girl's reading list. With this book, I have reached Emily status! :)

The Virgin Suicides

2010-05-06T05:56:00.000-07:00

I had a really hard time getting through this book. There was little I had in common with the characters. I didn't have over-protective parents. I think running away would be easier. I kept waiting for the "ah-ha!" moment where I understood the girls. It never came.

This makes the 4th book in my Gilmore Girl's list!

The good news- I'm below my goal weight. I feel like a huge weight (ha-ha!) has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel like I can now make the right choices when I eat and not need to obsess over it or the number on the scale!

Love Story

2010-04-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

I read Love Story by Erich Segal in about an hour. It's a nice quick read. I spend most of the time feeling like I've read it before. I know I hadn't but, I'm sure Nicholas Sparks redid this story! :) It was a good story. I was glad the girl in the story was such a strong woman. She handled everything she was given with dignity. It seemed way too quick to get a book off my list! :) That's three down. Rory status, here I come! :)

The Dirt!

2010-04-01T10:44:00.000-07:00

Another book off of my Gilmore Girls reading list. That's two now! :)

http://www.amazon.com/Motley-Crue-Confessions-Worlds-Notorious/dp/0060989157/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270143916&sr=1-1

This book started out with a bang! It only got better from there. As you can imagine, it has sex, drugs and rock and roll. Not necessarily in that order (frequently that was the order!)

I have always loved Motley Crue. They were one of my favorites! It's really nice to get to know so much more about the band members. If you are a fan, you have to read this book! I have a waiting list to borrow my copy.

Valley of the Dolls

2010-03-15T06:07:00.000-07:00

I read my first book for the Gilmore Girls reading challenge. I started with Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann. I bought it at Borders because I saw it and knew it was on my list. I should have borrowed it from the library. It did not make my "I will read this again list." I have very little patience for weak female characters. I had high hopes for Anne. She seemed so strong at the beginning. Going out on her own from everything she had known to start a life she wanted. What happened to you, girl? I don't think love should have turned you into an idiot!

One down on my list... several more to go. I started Lady Chatterly's Lover and found Inferno and Uncle Tom's cabin on Daily Lit. I feel like I'm already behind in this challenge. I'm not much of a reader anymore. I used to read when I went outside to smoke... :)

Long time no post...

2009-12-17T16:48:00.000-08:00

Hey there! I haven't posted in ages. Lots of changes. I ran my first 5K. My time was slow, but I'm sure it will get better. :) It was fun. I was lucky that Sarah took her time to drive down from Alexandria to run it with me. I don't know if I would have made it without her! Thanks, Sarah!

My weight is down to 182. (A little up from that sometimes.) Which means I've lost 130 pounds. It's not as low as the surgeon wants me to be. He wants me at 170. My year appointment is Jan 4th (less than 3 weeks). I don't think my weight will go down anymore. I think the surgeon is going to be unhappy with me. :( I hate getting yelled at!

Sarah has found a really cool reading challenge for next year. It's called Gilmore Girls Reading Challenge. I love the Gilmore Girls. I have every season on DVD. I've watched them all several times. I'm going for the Rory status. I don't read as much as I used to. I used to read while I was smoking. Now I don't smoke, so I don't read as much. Sarah listed the books she's going to try to read to get to Rory status. I'll do the same!

Classics:

Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
Inferno, Dante
Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
Lady Chatterly's Lover, DH Lawrence
Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe

Modern Classics:

A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
Catch 22, Joseph Heller
The Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer
Slaughterhouse 5, Kurt Vonnegut
A Streetcar named Desire, Tennessee Williams

Non-fiction:
Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders, Bugliosi and Gentry
The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion
The Dirt: Confessions of the Most Notorious Rockband, Motley Crue
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk, McNeil and McCain

Others:
The House of Sand and Fog, Andre Dubuss III
The Virgin Suicides, Jeffrey Eugenides
Girl, Interrupted, Susanna Kaysen
Love Story, Erich Segal
Valley of the Dolls, Jacqueline Susann

Bold= read

Couch to 5K

2009-06-30T04:46:00.000-07:00

I finally started the couch to 5K today. I told myself that I was going to start it when I've lost 100 lbs. I have no idea when I'll get there! I had gotten to see a loss of 95 lbs at one point. Now, for the past few weeks, my scale has bounced up and down by 3 lbs. It doesn't want to get below that 95 lb mark! It's very frustrating. I haven't done a vlog in a while. I think people will get tired of me saying "Hi guys! It's week such and such and my weight hasn't changed again!" LOL I finally stopped waiting for that 100 lb loss! I started it today! I felt very awkward. I think I bounce too much. I'm in the process of reading some books on running. Maybe I will pick up some pointers. I "run" down the side of one of the busiest roads in the county. Most people have to pass my path on the way to my work! I was worried about people seeing me and laughing at me because I look like a dork when I'm trying to run. It doesn't look pretty to see a fat woman bouncing down the side of the road. But, when I thought about it, I see people running down the side of the road and I never think they look funny. I always think "I should be doing that." So, maybe some heavy person will see my fat ass running down the road and will get inspired. Maybe they will think "If she can do it, I can too." And maybe they will. And maybe they will lose weight. And maybe they will be healthier. And maybe, just maybe, I will have affected some one's life for the best by being a big ole dork! :)

I'm in love!!!

2009-03-24T05:20:00.001-07:00

No, I'm not going to gush on about my husband. (Tho, I do kind of like him!) I'm going to gush on about my new shoes!

http://www.famousfootwear.com/product.asp?product_id=1015553&variant_id=68143?CMP=KNC-Adwords&partnerid=Adwords&cpc=Adwords&campaign=FF-Nike&hbx_ou=50&cpckw=Nike%20Alvord&hbx_pk=Nike%20Alvord

They are super comfortable! I didn't want to go the gym today because my feet were hurting so bad yesterday. I did an hour on the treadmill and my shoes were slipping around on my feet. I ended up with some spots that were rubbed pretty raw. :( But, I got up this morning (a little bit later due to excessive snooze button punching!), put on my new shoes and went to the gym. I only had time to do the treadmill for 45 minutes. :( But, my feet didn't hurt at all. They actually felt better once I put on the shoes. Sarah had recommended some socks for me to get, but they didn't have them anywhere around here. I did buy some athletic socks with moisture wicking. What a difference new shoes and socks make!!!

We were out really late last night. I tried Foot Locker. They had the Nike + shoes that I'm really interested. But, none in my size. The good news about going there first is that I finally learned my shoe size. All my life, I'd had wide feet. I've always bought wide shoes. But, apparently losing weight has changed the size of my feet as well. I went to Famous Footwear. I found the above shoes. I bought them, still wanting the Nike+. I figured that if I found the Nike+, I would still need a different pair of sneakers for things other than the gym. Then we went to JC Penney. They had a pair of Nike+ in my size. They are pink. I will have to learn to get over that. :( I bought them. Now I need the Nike sensor. I tried Best Buy, Target and Wal-mart. NO luck! :( I did buy an armband for my 2nd Gen ipod touch. But, my arm is still too big for it. I don't know if I should buy a different one online. The armband I bought doesn't have a lot of stretch. Maybe a more elastic armband will do the trick, but I would really hate to waste money on something I can't use. :( Stupid fat arms! When are you going to get smaller?!?!

I did some looking online this morning. It turns out I only need the sensor and not the receiver. The second gen ipod touch has a build in sensor. How sweet is that? Now I just need to figure out what to do about an armband. The sensor does me no good without the ipod. :(

Here are my Nike+ Shoes:

http://www.famousfootwear.com/product.asp?product_id=1017093&variant_id=71945

Another post-op post!

2009-03-23T11:33:00.000-07:00

I am just over 9 weeks post-op. I have learned how to eat. I have to take small bites, eat slowly and chew a lot. I have lost 56 lbs. I have lost two dress sizes. I have lost them and will never find them again. It's a great feeling. I am going to get my hubby to take pictures of me tonight. I don't know if i will post them. I kind of self-conscious about pictures. He's also going to measure me. I did my measurements a couple of days before surgery. I will be able to see some real numbers. I lost 40 lbs in the first three weeks. I started going to the gym. Then, I went three weeks with no loss! It was very frustrating. I finally started losing again and have lost 16 more pounds. I'm feeling great. I go to the gym at 6 am most mornings and do the treadmill for an hour. I'm going to start couch to 5k soon. I want to give running a try. I love walking on the treadmill. Hopefully, I will like running too. I just found out this weekend that there is a marathon in Disney in March. I think if I run a marathon, this would be the one.

Eating hasn't really been an issue for me. I make the right choices, eat my protein first and have no problems. The worse part was the liquid diet. Pre-op was horrible. I was hungry all the time. Post-op I was just so tired of sweet stuff. It seemed that everything I ate (or drank) was sweet. The protein shakes, pudding and applesauce. I was so happy to move on the soft foods. I had to be on soft foods for a couple of weeks. It wasn't bad. I have graduated to full foods. I can eat whatever I want. I have heard that some people "dump" after surgery. That certain foods don't agree with them. Eating sugar can make them really sick. I haven't had this problem, but I really don't push it. I don't eat unhealthy things. The worse I've done is one mozzarella stick at a meal. It's fried which makes it bad, but cheese has tons of protein. I'm obsessed with TVP. I use it dry and put it on Greek yogurt. It gives me the granola crunch but with protein instead of carbs. :) I eat a lot of ground turkey and chicken breasts.

I'm in my "honeymoon." Right now it doesn't really matter what I eat, I will lose weight. This only happens for 9 months to a year. During this stage when we aren't hungry, we are supposed to be learning to make the best choices. I have embraced this. My mom hasn't. I hope that she gets it before her "honeymoon" is over. She gets mad at me when she asks me about what she's eating. I think she wants me to tell her that she's doing fine, but I'm not going to lie. I've told her to stop asking my opinion if she doesn't really want it.

Anyhow! I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm feeling great. I have tons of energy and I already feel smaller. :)

Long time no blog...

2009-02-18T12:04:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I finally finished that hell of a 6 month medically supervised weight loss period. My insurance approved the surgery quickly once everything was done. The doctor's office had some illnesses every time someone got my jinxed file. But, my surgery was finally scheduled for January 15th. I was so elated. My long wait finally came to an end!!!! I had to do some more pre-op testing. I was nervous through all of that. I kept thinking that something could happen that would cause the surgeon to not let me have the surgery. I did the two week liquid liver shrinking diet. That was very difficult. I had this big ole hungry stomach that didn't get any food... But, I made it through that.

The day of the surgery came. I had to be at the hospital around 9 in the morning. I have a two hour drive to the hospital. I didn't really sleep the night before, so getting up was no problem. Besides, I am usually at work at 7 am so it would have actually been sleeping in for me.

It took three people to get my IV. I sat in a little room with no door waiting for a while for my surgery to start. I was finally wheeled into the OR. Next thing I remember, I was waking up. I had some horrible pain in my stomach. They do the surgery laproscopically but they have to blow the abdomen up with air in order to work. It took a while for me to wake up. I remember seeing my son in the corner of the room and trying to get him to come over and see me. I was reaching out with my hand gesturing him to come to me. Once I woke up I got to eat a few ice chips. I had a catheter in and I hated that part the worse. It made me feel like I had to pee. I kept asking for them to take it out. I wanted a drink of water in the worse way. My mouth and throat were so dry, but I couldn't drink water. I had to be happy with the ice chips. The nurse from the recovery room finally wheeled me to my room late at night.

The rooms are huge. It's bigger than my living room at home. Once the catheter came out. I got to go for a walk. I had a morphine pump, but I'm not really big on using pain medication. The bed wasn't really comfortable. Technicians had to come in all the time to check my vitals. I ended up walking a few times during the night out of boredom.

The day after, I had to go down to radiology for a swallow test. I turns out that I had some swelling in the opening from my esophagus to stomach so nothing was going down. It took me an extra day in the hospital for the swelling to go down. Obama was speaking in Baltimore the day I was leaving the hospital. It would have been a mad house had I needed to stay any later.

The ride home was horrible! Baltimore has extremely bumpy streets. Every single bump made my stomach feel like it was going to shoot out of the top of my head! Fred kept apologizing and I finally had to tell him to stop apologizing. He didn't put the bumps in the road!

We had a friend watching the house and Jesse's dog freaked out. She went and stayed outside in the freezing cold. He said every time he shined the flashlight on her she'd run out of the light. My mom and dad finally had to take Jesse over to get her. Since I had to stay an extra day, they went and got all my dogs and took them to their house. Luckily all the dogs behaved,even the big beast of a dog! He could have cleaned off a coffee table with his monster tail!

The pipes in the house froze while we were gone so we had no water. We had to turn on some heat and put a heater in our pump house to thaw everything out. Luckily no pipes broke. That would have been a disaster. Our pump house needs to have an old fashioned 60 watt bulb on during the winter. That bulb is enough to keep the pump house warm. We forgot to check the bulb and it had apparently burned out. :(

This post is getting much too long... I think I'll post it now and post another later. :)

Thank you...

2008-10-08T04:31:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all your support. :) I really appreciate all the positive thought and comments... (even if I didn't seem particularly receptive to them yesterday.)

Mom's surgery went well. She was up and walking around last night. She didn't do the liquid diet like she was supposed to and I was really worried the surgery wouldn't go well. I'm glad it did.

I should wear a warning sign...

2008-10-07T05:51:00.000-07:00

You see warning signs everywhere... They are for the good of mankind.... They keep people safe. I need one.

Mine will say "Caution- Do not approach. Foul mood will likely last for several more months."

Today is the day of mom's surgery. Today is the day her life will start over. I wish I had one too.

(I'm really sorry that all my posts are grumpy. I'm not a grumpy person. No usually...)

Another egg...

2008-09-04T10:41:00.001-07:00

I managed to get another egg. :)

Please visit my egg...

2008-09-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

I finally got a dragon egg. Please visit him so he can grow big! :)

Clicky, Clicky! :)

Thanks!

Jenn

I am such a horrible brat...

2008-08-22T05:10:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night, Mom called. She got all her paperwork and stuff for her surgery at the beginning of October. I know I should be happy for her. I told her congrats. I got off the phone and cried unconsolably for a couple of hours. I want to be happy for her, but this was my thing first!! I was the one who wanted it! But, because I work for the state and she works for the federal government, she gets to go so much earlier than I do. By the time I even get my surgery she will most likey have lost at least 50 lbs. She will be thinner and I won't! I understand I'm being a brat. And I try to look at the bright side and I try to be happy for her, but it hurts! She only went to the information session to see what I was getting into. She didn't even finish her paperwork for the information session until after the session because she said she wasn't going to get the surgery. I convinced her that she wasn't too old to change her life...

Ok! I'll shut my bratty mouth now!

No change from yesterday...

2008-08-20T06:18:00.000-07:00

Still waiting! LOL

Tonight I have my sleep study. Apparently, they want to find out if I have sleep apnea so that they can be aware of it during the surgery. I snore. I think I snore a bunch. I think I snore loudly. Fred says I snore most nights, but not all (like he really could tell... he sleeps like a rock.) I think he's just being nice. I think he has to be nice. LOL

Some things I have heard about the surgery....

85% of couples end in divorce- a couple of friends of mine have been married 13 years and are now getting a divorce... she had the surgery not too long ago. I wonder if it's a factor.

Fat cells hold a lot of estrogen, so:

I will be in a constant state of PMS.
I will have a very high libido (worse than now!)
I will be very fertile! (good thing i have the IUD!)

So, it seems like if I'm not screaming at him, I will be jumping his bones. I hope we (mainly he) will survive!

My life is on hold... :(

2008-08-19T11:23:00.000-07:00

Honestly, I think Sarah is the only person who really reads my blog. I think that's why i don't blog very much. I just tell Sarah everything over IM, so why would I make her read it all again????

Right now, I feel like my life is on hold. I have started the proceedings to get Gastric Bypass surgery. My insurance will cover the surgery, but I have to go through a 6 month medically supervised weight loss program. :( So, I'm doing that right now and waiting... and waiting and waiting! I feel like my life can't move on until after this surgery. I have had enough of being the size that I am. I want to get a much more active life. I want to be able to do more. I have spent my entire adult life on and off of diets. I never really get anywhere. This surgery really is my last chance.

I think part of what makes this waiting so much worse is that my mom's insurance doesn't require the waiting period. She only went to the informational meeting to see what I was getting into. She kept saying, "I'm not going to get the surgery." Well... she is getting the surgery. She is getting the surgery in the beginning of October. I have to wait until about January of 2009. It's so frustrating. I'm the one who wanted it and she's the one who is getting it. She's going to be thin and I'm still going to be my fat self! I am happy for her that she is going to be thin, but I just wanted to be thin too!

2008-05-23T06:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a Meme- Let me see your answers.

Here's how it works:
1. Put your mp3 on Shuffle All.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write that song name down no matter what.

Q. What would best describe your personality?
A. Water Runs Dry- Boys to Men

Q. If some one says it's okay you say...
A. It's All Been Done - Barenaked Ladies

Q. What do you like in a guy/girl?
A. Here's a Quarter- Travis Tritt

Q. How do you feel today?
A. These Dreams- Heart

Q. What is your life's purpose?
A. Under the Bridge- Red Hot Chili Peppers

Q. What is your motto?
A. Can't Buy Me Love- The Beatles

Q. What do your friends think of you?
A. Blowing Kisses in the Wind- Paula Abdul

Q. What do you think about very often?
A. The New Style- Beastie Boys

Q. What do you think of the person you love?
A. Riot Girl- Good Charlotte

Q. What is your life story?
A. Drive- The Cars

Q. What do you think when you see the person you love?
A. It's my Life- No Doubt

Q. What will they play at your funeral?
A. What the World Needs Now Is Love- Jackie DeShannon

Since the last time we left our intrepid hero...

2007-12-07T07:30:00.000-08:00

It's been over a month since I blogged. A very long, very stressful month. I somehow survived half the move to the new building. I'm not sure how, but I managed. I had three students come in the Sunday after Thanksgiving and we packed up a lot of the stuff in the lab. The movers came over on Monday and moved all the stuff we packed over to the new building. Since that time, I have been there 6-8 times getting stuff that were okayed to pack and apparently weren't really okay to pack. :( It's a long walk from the parking area to the building, especially if you are carrying stuff. It's just so backwards. We are supposed to be moving into that building, not out of it...

Jesse turned 12 yesterday. I can't believe he is so old! :( We went to Cici's Pizza on Tuesday with the family to celebrate. My mom picked up a very cute ice cream cake (scroll down to the snowman). Jesse got a Special Edition Nintendo DS Lite. He was very happy with his gift. Yesterday we stayed home all day. I made him cupcakes. He really wanted orange cake with strawberry frosting. I put the strawberry frosting on four of the cupcakes but vanilla on all the others.

I have been doing a lot of reading and playing my early Christmas present.

Reading:
Lover Revealed by JD Ward (Book 4 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood)- This book is Butch and Marissa's story. Butch was the only human allowed with the vampire Black Dagger Brotherhood. Lover Unbound by JD Ward (Book 5 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood)- This is Vischous' story. It was a good read. I loved the background information on Vischous. I guess she ran out of happy endings. :(

I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.

Dance with the Devil by Sherrilyn Kenyon- This is Zarek's story. It was great. I loved the depth of the character. Zarek was a former slaved (to his father's family) he suffered untold abuse and ended up dark and misunderstood.
Kiss of the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon- Cassandra is the only remaining relative of Apollo. It is told that her death can stop the curse. Wulf is a Dark Hunter who is cursed to never be remembered by anyone he meets that is not of his own blood. Definitely a good mix! :)
Night Play by Sherrilyn Kenyon- considered a Dark Hunter book, but not really. More of a Were Hunter book. Vane is friends with Dark Hunters, tho. And Bride is friends with the family of girls that are featured quite a bit in this series. It is a great book to go against all the body image problems. I really liked it. I couldn't put it down at all!
Seize the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon- Kenyon turns the villian into a hero. Very masterful. Valerius and Tabitha. We have been hating Valerius since the beginning. He gets hooked up with his enemies' wife's twin sister. We learn to love him with Tabitha.

I have enjoyed the Dark Hunter books. As soon as I can, I will be ordering more. :)

Games:
I got a Nintendo DS Lite for an early Christmas present. I got to get it now because Christmas is about watching Jesse open presents. :)

Nintendogs: A very cute game. You get to take your dogs for walks, teach them tricks and enter them into competitions.

The Sims 2 Castaway: Love it! I finished the game, but I haven't finished the collecting. It's really cool. Once you escape the island, a host of new things open up for you. You get to spear fish, dig, explore the temple, cook, forage, plant seed, hunt for bugs, make stuff, and sew clothing. I'm at 98% of stuff collected and am just waiting for some stuff to drop at my SOS sign.

Brain Age: A great game, but not something you can play for a long time. You train a little each day to make your brain work better.

My Sims: Not as good as Castaway. I haven't played it a lot, but I hope to get the strategy guide this weekend and give it a try again.

Puzzle Quest, Challenge of the Warlord: A puzzle game with a role playing element. The battles are like Bejeweled, but you and your opponent take turns on the same board. I had to retrain myself how to play the Bejeweled game. I like to set myself up for a good move on the next turn. If I do that, I'm really just setting my opponent up. :(

Sim City: I have barely scratched the surface of this game. So, I don't have much to tell you.

I want Rune Factory pretty badly! :(

I just found this game... It cracks me up! Sprung! How can I not want a game with the tagline "A game where everyone scores" LOL!!!!

For you knitters... (and for those who love a knitter...)

2007-11-06T05:57:00.000-08:00

There is a great contest going on over at Shut up, I'm counting. Cass has made it to her 333 post. Wow! That is great! :)

And for those of you who love (or like works too) a knitter... Here is an awesome gift! I want everyone I know to send me one. :)

And again... (Warning- Vent in progress!)

2007-11-06T04:57:00.000-08:00

I'm posting again. Mainly cuz I have something I have to get off my chest...

I am the one in charge of moving the lab into the new building. I am the one working every single day of the week. I am the one who did NOT get a vacation this year. I am the one that was here all summer... If I hear one more time about how stressed this stinkin' move is making other people that did not work all summer, only work part time now and can take off work when they want, I'm going to blow the top of my effin head off!!!!!

(That's all for now!- Back to our regularly scheduled happiness.) :)

This makes me smile. :)

Posting...

2007-11-05T06:50:00.000-08:00

Sarah says that I need to post. She says there are all kinds of things I can talk about... I don't know.

My weeks have been crazy lately. Last week I went to NIH in Bethesda, MD to pick up some mice. One of my students is doing some behavioral testing on mice. He's looking at Bi-Polar disorder. It should be really interesting. The trip to NIH was crazy. I hate driving on the beltway. Do people really need to drive that crazy???? They have signs saying "Aggressive Driver Imaging in Use- For your safety." What exactly does that mean? Honestly, I don't think it's working.

I had to walk a lot. The NIH campus is horrible for parking. And then I had to follow this cute boy for miles. Kind of back and forth... All I can say is that at least I got to follow a cute boy (Don't tell my hubby!) LOL

This weekend was nice and relaxing. Tho, I did spend a good part of it upset with my hubby. On Friday night, I really wanted him to play World of Warcraft with me. Instead of playing with me, he took off to play with some people in our guild. It seems silly, but that upset me. He had plans all weekend (plans without me...) I don't think asking him to play a video game with me was asking too much. I am about the least needy female. I tell him to make plans to play with his friends. He goes out every Sunday to play a game with our friends. Nearly every Saturday he goes and play a war game with his friends. Most guys would love their SO to want to play video games with him... (I think what I'm trying to explain with this paragraph is that my husband is whacked in the head... I didn't hit him, honest!)

I read two books this weekend:
Lover Eternal by JD Ward and Lover Awakened by JD Ward. They were incredible books. I haven't read anything that good in a while. I stayed up until 3 am Friday night reading. I won an auction on eBay for the next two in the series. I paid for them this morning. I really hope they don't take too long to get to me...

Sunday, I made a big pot of chili. I love my chili. It's great because I know I don't have to cook the rest of the week. With it now just being the three of us again (SQUEE!), that pot will last us a while. Fred and I don't mind eating the same thing every night, but Jesse will be complaining very soon! We got tomatoes, tomato sauce and chili powder at BJ's. Fred said this will be a chili winter. Honestly, I don't mind at all. I spend all summer wishing it would get cooler so I can have chili. I did tell him that I will have to make my beef stew this winter. Beef stew takes all day because my stew meat has to practically melt in your mouth, or I'm not happy.

Okay, so I found some stuff to tell everyone... Nice.

I do have one confession to make... I haven't picked up knitting needles in a couple of weeks. I'm so failing the Secret of the Stole. :(

Meet Bigga...

2007-10-30T05:16:00.000-07:00

This is Bigga. He's an attention hound. He doesn't understand that there are times when I am not ready to love on him.

He's very cute and cuddly. He has lots of silky fur.

This is Bigga when I am trying to sleep. (Please click link.)

Ravelry and ppl's blogs...

2007-09-28T04:46:00.000-07:00

I finally got my Ravelry invite. I'm Devilwmn there as well. I have already joined 50 groups!!! It sucks up a lot of time. :)

I think very few people actually read my blog. Most of those that do know me in person. I read a lot of blogs. I really don't comment very often. I often feel when I comment that I'm sticking my nose into other people's business. When I was a kid, my mother's best friend had a dog that had puppies. One of the puppies was everyone's favorite, but they were pure-bred and needing the money, my mother's friend had to sell that puppy. Everyone was crying. I was with them in the car when they took the puppy to it's new home. I was crying too. I spent a lot of time there and loved that puppy just as much as everyone else. My mother's friend turned around and looked at me and said "Why are you crying? It's not your dog and you have no business being upset." I try to keep out of other's business. I find it very hard reading blogs and getting to know lots of things about people's lifes. I like to comment. Generally, I'm a pretty happy and empathetic person. I like to send my good thoughts out into the universe. Maybe the good vibes will get where they need to go. It doesn't hurt to try, right? But, every once in a while, I feel that maybe I shouldn't even be reading ppl's blogs. I had been reading a particular blog and commenting several times when the owner of the blog had a give away. I thought it was a contest like i see on several blogs. I commented. I figured if she was doing a drawing to give something away that I wanted, it wouldn't hurt... Boy was I wrong! She sent back... "What are you doing commenting on my blog. I don't even know you. This is for friends only." The thing of it is, she's a knitting designer. She had a lot of neat patterns for toys. I liked her patterns and was going to purchase some... Upon getting that email, I cancelled my bloglines subscription for her blog. I have not been back and that was a year ago. Now whenever I comment on blogs, I feel like an interloper. I'm very sad that someone could ruin it for me. :( Now I think I only regularly comment on blogs of someone who is a friend or someone that I know is okay with comments from me... Hi Chris! :) and Rhonda! :)

I've been slacking again...

2007-07-19T05:44:00.000-07:00

I was doing so good posting for a while... Then I got busy... I'm back and am going to try to do better...

Tuesday, I took my boy to the airport. He's going to be in Kansas with his grandmother for a month. It takes me a while to get used to it. I'm usually starting to enjoy it when it's time for him to be back. LOL He had just gotten back from Boy Scout camp on Saturday afternoon. He left for Kansas a few days later. I feel like something is missing in my life. I pack my lunch in the morning and feel like I don't have something important. Normally, I cut him a piece of watermelon every morning. I go to bed at night and feel like I forgot to do something. I try to check on him when he isn't even there. :(

This is how we got him back from Scout Camp. Apparently, they didn't teach him how to duck. He was hit by a flying log. An adult leader was banging a log against a tree. (I guess to make it smaller for the camp fire.) A piece went flying and got Jesse right in the face. Luckily, nothing is broken. I just hope the log looks worse.

I was in the living room playing video games with my husband and roomate. When I got up to walk through the kitchen, I found this. I had to check to see if it was alive. Can you believe that any self respecting cat would lay like this? This creature is crazy! He's such a fat lazy cat. I love him! :)

Yesterday...

2007-06-28T05:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to see a Midwife. I was looking for a new gyn because I'm not happy with the doctors in my area. I had been really bad and hadn't been for a couple of years. Not since I went to the health department last. I had insurance, I just didn't want to go to the gyn that did my grandmother's hysterecemy. My grandmother got a staff infection from that surgery and never really woke up again. :( So, I heard about this doctor that several of my friends really like. The doctor had a midwife that works with him. The receptionist asked me if I wanted to see her and I said "Sure, why not." I like things like that. They are unconventional by today's standards, but a way of life in the old days. That's why I like knitting and sewing so much. It's also why I heat my house with a wood stove in the winter. I have a furnace, but oil is expensive and I like the wood stove better. Not that I don't like new stuff too. I love my laptop, DVR and big flat screen tv. I love World of Warcraft, but I just like the old stuff to, so I'll pick and choice which older things I can happily live with and which I can't. :)

I don't think I've ever explained the irony of my nick. As many of you know, I'm a wiccan. Hence I don't believe in the devil. How could I? I would have to believe in the christian god in order for one of the fallen angels to exist. So, you may ask, why Devilwmn? I like the irony of it shortened like that. It's actually short for Devilish woman. With devilish ( adj. playful in an appealingly bold way; "a roguish grin" ) being an accepted word in the english language. I don't have to agree with the origin of it... :)

For Freak Knitter: This is the hair tie culprit. He's so adorable, that it hides his troublesome personality! LOL

Here's some of his most interesting pictures:

MeMe

2007-06-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

This is my first ever MeMe... I read it on Scarlett's Blog... that makes me tagged...

Rules:

go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday month and day only. Then post 3 events, 2 births and one holiday that occurred on your birthday, then tag 5 friends

Events:

1692 - A doctor in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony declares that three teenage girls are under domination of Satan, leading to the Salem witch trials.
1855 - The Devil's Footprints mysteriously appear in southern Devon.
2001 - Disney's California Adventure, a new Disney theme park opened in Anaheim, California.

Births:

1828 - Jules Verne, French author (d. 1905)
1851 - Kate Chopin, American author (d. 1904)

Holiday:

Nirvana Day - an annual Buddhist festival.

If you are reading this, you too are tagged... :) It's actually a lot of fun! :)

Trying something here...

2007-06-26T05:26:00.000-07:00

So, I see all these blogs with pictures. I have never tried to put a picture on my blog. I want to. It's summer, work is slow. I think I'll give it a try. Here goes.... (wish me luck!)

I did it!!!! :) I feel so smart... s m r t!!! :) Now I have to get my digital camera and take tons of pics! But, until then, another animal pics (I have those in abudance!)

Isn't that a pretty belly button??? I always want to touch it, but Tao won't let me. :( He's such a tease...

My personality...

2006-12-07T10:26:00.000-08:00

Thanks, Sarah!

Almost Perfect- INFP
20% Extraversion, 73% Intuition, 26% Thinking, 46% Judging

So, you want to make the world a better place? Too bad it's never gonna happen.

Of all the types, you have to be one of the hardest to find fault in. You have a selfless and caring nature. You're a good listener and someone who wants to avoid conflict. You genuinely desire to do good.

Of course, these all add up to an incredibly overpowered conscience which makes you feel guilty and responsible when anything goes wrong. Of course, it MUST be your fault EVERYTIME.

Though you're constantly on a mission to find the truth, you have no use for hard facts and logic, which is a source of great confusion for those of us with brains. Despite this, in a losing argument, you're not above spouting off inaccurate fact after fact in an effort to protect your precious values.

You're most probably a perfectionist, which in this case, is a bad thing. Any group work is destined to fail because of your incredibly high standards.

Disregard what I said before. You're just easy to find fault in as everyone else!

Luckily, you're generally very hard on yourself, meaning I don't need to waste my precious time insulting you. Instead, just find all your own faults and insult yourself.

*****************

If you want to learn more about your personality type in a slightly less negative way, check out this.

*****************

The other personality types are as follows...

Loner - Introverted Sensing Feeling Perceiving
Pushover - Introverted Sensing Feeling Judging
Criminal - Introverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving
Borefest - Introverted Sensing Thinking Judging
Freak - Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging
Loser - Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Perceiving
Crackpot - Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging
Clown - Extraverted Sensing Feeling Perceiving
Sap - Extraverted Sensing Feeling Judging
Commander - Extraverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving
Do Gooder - Extraverted Sensing Thinking Judging
Scumbag - Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving
Busybody - Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging
Prick - Extraverted iNtuitive Thinking Perceiving
Dictator - Extraverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on Extraversion

You scored higher than 99% on Intuition

You scored higher than 99% on Thinking

You scored higher than 99% on Judging

Link: The Brutally Honest Personality Test written by UltimateMaster on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

I'm finally going to post...

2006-12-04T07:16:00.000-08:00

My house has the plague. Not the actually plague, because that would mean we'd have doctors (lots) to take care of us and make us feel better. No, we have the plague of all colds. I've been sick since last Wednesday. I missed work on Thursday and Friday. I'm here today because I know the doctor can't do anything for me; other than give me codeine which means I will sleep. I feel better when I'm sleeping anyhow. Sleeping is not a problem. Coming in to work when I'm coughing, sneezing, and achy, that's the problem. Jesse is sick. Fred is sick. My mom is sick. She's home right now. She doesn't even live in our plague infested house... I'd stay the hell away from me and my house right now if I could... I really wish I could. I also wish I could say I've gotten something done in the last four days. I wish I could tell you about a finished knitting project, something I sewed... I even wish I could tell you about a book I read. But, I can't... I can't even tell you what I watched on TV. I've been so incredibly "out of it." :(

Fred got me a cool 2007 calender. It's the Quilling pattern a day calendar. I'm excited to play with it. I know I'm always busy at work, but I hope I can take some time each day and do the little quilling project. Doesn't it look like fun? I really wanted the origami one last year and never got it, so I'm excited about this one this year. I don't have to work on Jan. 1, so I'm tempted to do the first one now, but I'm trying to be good. :) I know all you scrapbookers are jealous! :)

In the name of science...

2006-11-29T09:42:00.000-08:00

I'm going to give you a link... please follow suit! :)

Here!

Fun and games...

2006-11-20T05:28:00.000-08:00

Sorry guys... this is all you get from me. Life is hectic and I'm miserable! :(

You scored as II - The High Priestess. The High Priestess is a card of intuition, instinct and hidden knowledge. She knows all your secrets, you can hide nothing from her. Yet you will never know the secrets she herself protects.If well aspected in a Tarot spread, this card can indicate the use of intuition to solve problems; trust to your instincts. If badly aspected, it can mean suppression and ignoring of such instincts - following your head at the expense of your heart.

II - The High Priestess

94%

III - The Empress

94%

XIII: Death

81%

XVI: The Tower

69%

XI: Justice

69%

VI: The Lovers

63%

VIII - Strength

63%

I - Magician

56%

0 - The Fool

38%

IV - The Emperor

38%

XV: The Devil

31%

X - Wheel of Fortune

31%

XIX: The Sun

25%

Which Major Arcana Tarot Card Are You?
created with QuizFarm.com

How I speak...

2006-11-06T04:47:00.000-08:00

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The South
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The Northeast
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

This is hilarious to me. I loved this quiz. My mom's family is from the south and my dad's family is from the north. My dad's family would laugh at me because I had a southern accent. My mom's family would laugh at me because I had a northern accent. I grew up very confused. I was born in southern Maryland. It's top border (and most of it's eastern border) are the Mason Dixon Line. This is supposed to be the line that separates the north from the south. So, I'm supposed to be southern. (Except in the Civil War... you know the whole "Maryland was forced to stay in the Union." )

Did you notice that it listed Missouri as one of my places? Does that mean I speak like Fred? Please don't tell him... I give him such a hard time about being from "misery." I know it's not pronounced that way, but I love giving him a hard time. Then there's the whole "show me state" nickname. I have so much fun with that. If he knew about this... I'd never live it down. LOL

I'm hoping to actually put some content here...

2006-10-05T05:06:00.000-07:00

Things are so busy, that I wrote last week's post on Monday and didn't get it posted until Thursday. I really was hoping to put in some more content, but I forgot what I was going to put in there... Sorry about that.

I took off work yesterday. I had looked at my schedule and seen that it's the only day in October that I wasn't completely swamped. I decided I needed the day off. I got to watch The Little Mermaid. Fred had brought it home for me on Tuesday. On Monday he brought me home The Lake House. (This is my husband's way of getting me flowers. I don't like getting flowers because they die...) He actually watched The Lake House with me. Isn't that sweet? I did a little bit of knitting yesterday. I did enough to catch me up with what I had to take out on Tuesday night. I was really into the newest episode of the Gilmore Girls. I was putting my increases and decreases in the wrong section and ended up with some strange shape. (It was supposed to be a rectangle with diagonal stripes.) LOL

Fred really wanted to watch a new show on Monday. It's called Heroes. It was a pretty good show. It wasn't Gilmore Girls or Charmed. LOL Heroes is definitely aimed at comic book fans. Fred loved it!

Right now, I'm listening to Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Has anyone here ever heard of them? They are a punk cover band. I really love hearing old favorites in punk. My favorite has got to be My Favorite Things from the Sound of Music. It makes me type so much faster! LOL

This past weekend...

2006-09-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend was great!!! We went shopping in olde town Fredericksburg. Lot of walking and neat little stores. I loved it. Fred and I went alone on Saturday. I found Vera Bradley bags! I bought tons of them (Man! I'm so poor now!) LOL My favorite Colorway is Alpine Black. On saturday we bought the Villager, The Vera, the Zip Around Wallet and eyeglass case. I was going to use the Villager as a purse. It's a bit big, but I like the size of the straps. Well, on this street there are two (yes, you heard me! TWO) vendors that sell VB! I didn't even go into the second one because I already bought plenty of bags. :) Well, Sunday Mom decides that she wants to get a VB backpack. So, we head back to that lovely, lovely street. Well, the place I spent so much money is closed. So I take her to the other place on the street. Where I see the Hipster. It's absolutely perfect! Good size and perfect strap. Of course I had to buy it!!! I also got a cute little change purse to match. And an id case... My mom bought her first VB. I'm so proud of her. She got the backpack in New Hope. (which of course is being discontinued.) So, Fred bought her the little wallet to go with it.

I finished the baby blanket!!!! :) I'm so happy! I'm glad to be done with it.

Enjoy all the links. :)

Monday...

2006-09-11T07:04:00.000-07:00

Here it is Monday and I'm in a really good mood. Isn't that strange? I hate Mondays. I hate workdays! But, I'm in a pleasant mood today...

Here are things that are NOT going to spoil my mood:

- I don't find out until 7 am today (when I get to work) that I'm expected to work an extra hour today to attend BioPsych. (I guess that means MORE comp time that I can't really use.)

- There is a hitch in the office space issue. It's all up in the air right now, but I have every confidence that the department chair will figure it out. She understand that it's NOT working for me to be in the basement lab with the surgeries, perfusions and microtome surrounding. Not to mention students testing rats...

- I can't go to lunch at Cerro Grande today because of time issues with when people need the brain cart. I get a little over an hour in between, but my mom has a meeting today and her free times don't coincide with my free times.

- After a long drive to pick up food and bedding on Wednesday, I will have to be back early for lab. Hence, I will probably be putting in more than an hour of comp time on Wednesday.

- Fred has a night job tonight and I won't be sleeping well. Tomorrow is a superbly busy day and I will be exhausted.

- It's still way too dark in the morning. I can't wait for Daylight Savings time. (End of October, in case you don't keep up with it the way I do.)

Here are the things that will help me keep my current good mood:

- Today is not Tuesday. :)

- I get to go to Cerro Grande for lunch next Tuesday for a friend's birthday! (One that I never get to see anymore...)

- I got to name a cat. :)

- I bought the yarn from Crazy for Ewe for the cardigan this weekend.

- I got to go to AC Moore's and Hancock Fabrics in Fredericksburg, VA this weekend.

- I did some more rows on the baby afghan. It's really coming along. (That really means that I will be able to start on the cardi!)

- I got Fred to help me do a bit of cleaning this weekend. :)

- I slept amazingly well last night. I don't sleep well anymore, so this is quite a feat! :)

- Today is a beautiful day! I love this weather. I love fall! :)

- Fred is NOT working this weekend and we are going camping! (I think that ppsassygirl and her beau should join us this weekend.) (WE HAVE MARGARITAS!)

Lady Eleanor

2006-09-06T06:38:00.000-07:00

I really want to make a Lady Eleanor Stole. I'm bidding on this yarn for it. I think it will be really pretty in that yarn. I would have waited to buy it, but sometimes you see such good prices on eBay. I love it when people get rid of perfectly good stuff! LOL

I also really want to make a Cardigan from the book Big Girl Knits. I was eyeing that book in Crazy for Ewe when Fred was with me and he bought it for me. I can't really show a very good picture of the Cardi. If you click on that link, it's the blonde girl in the striped front sweater. I'm also going to make the Natalie coat from that book. I had bought some superwash wool for another project. But, it was too dark, so i'm going to use it for the Natalie Coat.

I'm still being very good and working on the baby blanket. I have 55 rows to go. The baby shower won't be until after the Neuroscience conference so, I have plenty of time! :) (For the cake maker, that means mid to the end of October.)

This weekend was horrible! No electricity for a couple of days (I think that's why I have all these new projects planned!) My parent's basement flooded. The animal lab flooded (including cricket soup in a fluorescent light fixture... yummy!) I've put in several (up to 6) hours of comp-time. I have to stay an extra hour today and my day is packed with meeting people for different things! I guess that means I can't really say any more here today. I hope things slow down soon!!!

Baby Blanket...

2006-08-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

I'm still working on that baby blanket. I am forcing myself to get it done before I go back to any of my other projects. I'm doing really well with that part. So, instead... I have days where I don't knit at all. I have done 194 rows out of about 200. I'm over half-way there. Why can't I just finish it? I think a part of it has to do with the fact that the person I'm making it for doesn't like me. I think that's making it harder. Otherwise, I would really enjoy knitting it. I'm doing a cabled blanket in a mint green color. I love making cables. They are a lot of fun. I like the color I'm working with. We all know i'm partial to green. :) The Knit Picks needles are wonderful. I don't know how I ever survived without them. So, why can't I just finish this blanket????

I hurt my shoulder/back. I pulled a muscle lifting heavy items at work. I didn't even feel well enough to play World of Warcraft. Fred was so lonely without me. I have almost a whole level of "rested xp" saved, so I should be level 43 in no time. :) I finally played again last night. The muscle is feeling much better than it was... I don't have to take the muscle relaxer and pain pill anymore. The days that I was on the medicine, I hallucinated heavily. That was really strange. I would be partially dozing off and would scare myself awake. I would hallucinate about falling down or something and I would startle myself. It was a weird three days! LOL

Jesse just started 6th grade. He's in middle school. He is already losing papers. I don't have any idea what to do with him. I set him all up to be organized, but when he's at school, he just can't seem to do it. :( Poor baby!

Good news!!! I'm getting an office at work soon. I will no longer have my computer, etc. in the lab. I think that will help me find time to blog more often. I might even answer an email from a friend now and then. LOL

Need sleep...

2006-08-23T05:10:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have someone in your life that just absolutely will not let you sleep??? I have many. Way too many...

The first is Christine Feehan- I've read ALL her books, so I'm safe from her until lemme see.... uhhh... Sept 4th. (Guess that's not really all that safe. LOL) But, after that I'm safe until October 31st.

Then Kate Forsyth makes me loose a lot of sleep. I've read all of her books as well so I'm safe from her until... well, i can't really find out when the third book of Rhiannon's ride comes out. So, I'm safe for a bit. LOL

My latest problem is Anne Bishop. I am so far from being safe... I have read all of the black jewels trilogy. It was really good. Then when I saw Pillars of the World, I thought it would be harmless. I haven't sleep this week!!! I'm so stuck in that book! I love it!!! Now I'm not safe at all. I'm going to have to hope on over to Amazon.com and buy some more of her books. Will I ever sleep again???

2006-07-31T04:46:00.000-07:00

You Are: 20% Dog, 80% Cat

You are are almost exactly like a cat.
You're intelligent, independent, and set on getting your way.
And there's no way you're going to fetch a paper for anyone!

Are You More Cat or Dog?

I haven't been updating. I haven't been doing anything interesting. I did do a bunch of shopping this weekend in Fredricksburg. I'm doing a little knitting. Most of my free time is spent keeping my husband happy playing World of Warcraft. I admit. It's fun. :) We have an awesome guild and have lots of fun playing. I got this quiz from Eva's blog. :) Thanks Eva! I agree with Eva, I really really really want the KnitPicks bag (including purse), magnetic board and matching needleset. Now, I just have to figure out how to convince Fred to let me spend that much. He knows how much I love knitting and how much I love things to match. (Well, maybe not in my home decor.) He does like his monitor and speakers, etc to match his computer. Maybe I'll use that against him. LOL

My too short weekend...

2006-07-05T06:33:00.000-07:00

We had a long weekend from work. We got off Monday and Tuesday for the holiday. So, why did it seem like the weekend was so short? I loved being home. I didn't get any sewing done (which I had hoped to do.) I didn't get any knitting done (I was hoping again...) But, I did get my house clean. It was really nice to be home and have the time to clean my house. My cleaning was a bit hampered by the two extra dogs that are currently residing in my house. My parents are on vacation (I was supposed to go, but couldn't afford it...) and I have their two dogs at my house. These are feet dogs. They have to be under my feet everywhere I go. It makes the cleaning a tad bit harder.

My parents are camping at Niagara Falls. I really wish I could have gone. Luckily for them, I didn't. They called me Sunday and told me that their tags for their truck were expired. I spent half of my day on Monday getting it taken care of for them. I hate running my own errands and I had to spend the first day of my holiday running someone else's errands. Grrr!!! I wasn't too happy about that.

I actually got to spend time with my husband yesterday. I have only got to see him for a few minutes a day lately. With all the flooding north of us, he's been working until really late every day. I'm glad that we will be getting the money, but I miss my hubby! :(

I really don't know what else to say. My life is boring!!!!

I am the worse blogger ever...

2006-06-16T05:05:00.000-07:00

I don't even know why I keep this thing. I so rarely update. All I can say is that I keep busy (much, much, much too busy!) I have the entire Division Office at work full of boxes of stuff that I had to buy with the end of the fiscal year money. I hated the shopping part and I hate the putting away part even more. There are tons of boxes and they are upstairs. Which means I have to carry all those boxes downstairs... :( I have spent this entire week working on updating the operant boxes and will be at work all day tomorrow (Saturday.) Why a Saturday you ask??? Because being low man on the totem pole means that I'm not allowed to use the room when it interferes with someone's precious testing or surgery. I have to work on the weekend. We all know that I will get fussed at when I try to use that comp time. That's the way it works around here.

I can't even knit in the evenings. My hands are so sore from putting connectors and spade terminals on wires. :( They have to be squeezed on with a crimping tool. My left hand is still too weak to do it. This causes my right hand to have to do most of the work. So both hands are sore from this ordeal and I have more to do tomorrow. I'm really not looking forward to it. I'm very tired and really don't want to work tomorrow.

I can't wait until next weekend. I signed up for a lace knitting class. It's going to be taught by Annie Modesitt. I'm really excited to meet her. I wonder if I will see dumb if I take her book with me and ask her to sign it. I really hate making myself look dumb. (But, I'm really good at it too!)

I know this is short, but it's really all I can muster. I have to go and start carrying boxes and changing bedding and changing bottles and I may never leave here today! :(

It's been a long time again...

2006-06-02T07:13:00.000-07:00

I keep waiting a really long time to update this blog. My only excuses are that I've been very busy and very grumpy. It seems that I'm grumpy all the time lately. I think it's work. I used to love my job. I loved coming in to work everyday and seeing what the day would hold for me. Even on my busy days when I already knew what I had to do, I still loved coming here. That was before we got an extra person in the lab. I think this person has some kind of problem. One day she will be really nice to me and the next she will be really short and snappy. I feel like I'm a second-class citizen because I have to do all the grunge work. I don't have a precious PhD. I don't teach classes. I am the slave. Maybe it's me. I guess I need to get a little thicker skin. I know that I take things personally, but I try to be nice to people ALL THE TIME, not just when I'm in a good mood (which doesn't seem to happen to this person often enough.) I know everyone is probably getting tired of reading all my whining, but it's been a horrible year. Hell, it's been a horrible couple of years. At least last year it was just problems at work. Now I have all the crap at home too.

More bad news... My A/C at home is broken. As many of you know, I hate being hot. It makes me grumpy. (So, we add that to the previous grumpy, and we get...) :::sigh::: I don't have the money to fix it and I don't know what I'm going to do at this point... I've already cancelled my vacation for this year. Which means that I don't even have a week this summer to look forward to not having to deal with work. :(

Okay... that's enough of the bad news. (How much bad news can you really take at once?) The good news is that Jesse graduates from the 5th grade next Friday. That's only one week that he has to make it through and we are done for the year. I always thought that celebrating a 5th grade graduation was silly, but I'm celebrating because I had no idea if we'd even get here... :)

Now back to the grumbling!!! It's the end of the fiscal year. Unlike cara_angelica, I hate the end of the fiscal year. It's summer, so I'm extremely busy and then add on to trying to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars!!! I don't have time for this. I worked two extra hours last week and then got fussed at (by email of course) for leaving early. Same person as mentioned in the first part of the post.

More good news... (I thought you might be enjoying the yo-yo thing I've got going on...) I'm going to the movies with my husband and a friend from his work tomorrow. Jesse has a school field trip (He's on restriction for the previous entry or else we'd take him to see the movie too). We have the whole day to ourselves. We are going to see X3! :) 1:30 tomorrow... anyone else want to tag along????

My child...

2006-05-23T06:08:00.000-07:00

My child got suspended from school for today. He collected rocks and brought them into the classroom. Several of the kids were throwing rocks. Another kid got hurt. The principal said that Jesse didn't throw the rock that hurt the other kid, but he was throwing rocks and he was the one who brought the rocks in. I'm very upset. I don't have any idea what to do about my kid... :(

No more searching for a place to sleep...

2006-05-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

My days of not having my own bed when I am camping are over!!! :) Fred and I bought a pop-up camper this weekend. It's used. It's a 1993. It needs some work, but it was a good price and the work it needs is all minor. :) We've been working on it every evening this week. It's sitting in my yard right now. I'm going to go camping this weekend. No husband... no kid... no animals. I don't even know what I'm going to do with myself! :) I've very excited.

Clapotis progress: I dropped my first stitch. (I told my mom this and she asked "On purpose?" LOL) My yarn doesn't drop so well. The yarn it calls for is wool and silk and my yarn is wool and alpaca. I have to tease it a bit to get it to drop. But, it is pretty. I also found another person on the Clapotis mailing list from Southern Maryland. What a small world! :) She just finished her Clapotis this weekend! I really want to use the yarn it calls for next time. I think I've decided on the Aslan colorway. It looks so classy. :)

I had a very busy weekend. Jesse had a soccer game on Saturday morning. They played the same team as last week. I hate this team. The parents are horrible. They act as if their children are playing professional soccer. The coach is horrible. He threw his clipboard when it looked like our team had scored one (to tie it up.) ... He made the kids to 50 push-ups for something stupid... and he told one of his players to act like our team was tripping him (this I heard from an eavesdropping 10 year old)... The players on the team push and make sure they are offsides when the other team might score. Then we went to a graduation party for sleepygrl25 at ppsassygrl's house and finally got to meet fairouz. Apparently the party really got started after I left. :( (At least that's the blog-land consensus!) I had to leave early because I promised my dad we would go to his show for the Knights of Harmony. The singing was good, but the seats were horrible. We didn't get home until 1 am!!!

Sunday was Mother's Day. We went to the Fractured Prune with Mom, Dad, Victor, Jenny and Sydney. It was really yummy. Then we stopped on the side of Route 4 to buy a camper (see above.) :) It was a really big weekend for us!

My yarn...

2006-05-09T04:23:00.000-07:00

I'm using Serendipity by Dancing Fibers. This is the only link I have been able to find for it online. Ellen at Crazy for Ewe had it in her store. The one on the bottom left is the colorway I'm using for Clapotis. The top right colorway is the KISS purse. This yarn is incredibly soft. I already want to do another Clapotis in the reds and blues on the bottom right... and the bottom middle... and one to match my KISS purse... LOL The yarn is so soft that I could spend hours running my fingers through it. I've searched eBay and can't find it there either and I only left Ellen with 2 skeins of the colorway for the KISS purse and one of the Clapotis colorway (in case I need more... LOL)

Wow... Long post...

2006-05-08T04:59:00.000-07:00

I am feeling a bit better. I've given the wallowing up. It takes up too much time. I had a very eventful weekend which helped to keep my mind off of things...

On Saturday, we had to get up early and be at the soccer field at 7:30 am. I have decided that this is much too early to be out of my house on a Saturday. Admittedly, I am usually up at this time on the weekends, but I'm usually sitting on my couch enjoying some hot tea and knitting on my latest project. Jesse had his game at 8:30 and had to have his picture taken before the game. Jesse is not one of those stellar players. He wants to sign up every year, but he wants to spend his time on the sideline. I'm not really sure his reasoning for all this, but that's what he likes. I can only surmise that it's the social aspect of the soccer team, but I fear that my family is right and he just wants to the orange slices he gets during half-time and the snacks he gets after the game. When he was smaller he thought you only got the snacks if you won the game. Personally, I hate sports. I hate watching all sports safe Hockey. I'm not sure what it is about Hockey, but I really love it. Soccer, I only watch when my son is playing. So, I started my next project. (Without completing any others of course.) I'm working on Clapotis from Knitty.com. I have been in love with this project since the first time I saw it, but couldn't justify spending the amount needed for the yarn it called for. I had been buying other yarn to get it to work out. I didn't like any of them. Then I found this obscure (at least it must be because that's the only link I can find for it online) at my LYS. I bought some for a different project. I was happily working along on it and decided it would make the best Clapotis. So, I bought (or sent Fred to pick up) enough yarn for the Clapotis. In the end, I spent as much (or more) on that yarn. Especially if you add the other yarn I bought to try it with that never worked out... I guess I can't be a yarn snob and cheap. :( (Wow! That was quite an aside...)

After Jesse's game, we headed down to Fredericksburg to go camping. I was happily knitting along on Clapotis when I realized I had made an error. And I finally figured out how my stitches were twisted when I was knitting, so Jesse unknit it for me and I started all over again...

The weather was warm and it was beautiful. Then... it got cold. Jesse didn't pack any pants. I had to run out to the store at 8 pm (when everyone else was sitting down to dinner) and find him some sweatpants. Mind you, I hadn't eaten since noon and we had gone swimming. I was halfway to the store and realized that I had no business driving. I'm sure I looked like I was drunk. Hypoglycemia really sucks! Somehow I made it back to the campsite with sweat pants. I got a little dinner and sat by the campfire for a little while. Everyone went to bed and Fred and I were sleeping in the tent. On our site, the only place to set up the tent was on the gravel. Not too bad when you have an air mattress. Not so good when you have an air mattress with a hole in it! I woke up two hours later (2 am) because I was really uncomfortable on the gravel. I grabbed my blanket and pillow and went to try to sleep in the backseat of my car. I get settled in and realized that I had to pee. I went to the camper and found out the door was locked! Luckily, my brother was awake because he also had to pee and let me in. I went back to try to sleep in my car. My back started hurting because I couldn't stretch out. I tried to the door to my dad's big truck. Unlocked! I thought "Finally, a bit of luck!" I tried to lay in there, but still the same problem. Guess that's what I get for being 5 ft 6 in and 2 in above the average height for a female. If I were shorter, I'd be happily asleep. Then it hit me... Victor and Jenny bought a hammock I'll sleep there. Little did I know that it was a evil hammock possessed by the cruelest demon imaginable! I tried to get comfortable and it flipped completely over and threw me on the ground. Now, I'm a stubborn person, so I wasn't going to let that deter me. I tried again. This time (I have no clue how it's even possible) it rocked up on it's end (it had the metal bars. And threw me out again. Resigned, I went back to the gravel. I played on my gameboy. (It was very dark out.) Then just laid on the gravel wishing the sun would come up so I could at least knit. I'm laying there staring at the door when my husband's big dog walks over to the door and starts smelling at the zipper to the door. Next thing I know... "ZIP!" He opened the door with his nose and was gone... I had to wake my husband up so we could go and chase the dog down right before sunrise... My husband (who can sleep anywhere and was asleep on the gravel...) and I caught the dog and chained him up over by the campfire. So I sat and waited for the sun and he went to sleep in the chairs... (Let me tell how infuriating I'm finding this super ability of my husband's at this point...) Good think my knitting needles (that I'm now holding and waiting for the sunshine) are wood... That's all I'm gonna say... Good thing they are wood and I didn't want to break them!

I'll bet you are tired just reading this entry! I feel tired thinking about it all again. But, on the way back home, hubby and I finally got our hiking boots... :) I got Clapotis past the part where it was when I let Jesse unknit it for me! I think unknitting is his specialty! :) I have my doctor's appointment today where I should get cleared to lift things again... I'm looking forward to that. I slept from the time I got home yesterday (got up for an hour) and went back to sleep until I had to get up and come to work this morning. I love my bed! :)

Over a month...

2006-05-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

It has been over a month since I last posted. I'm the worst blogger ever. I don't know why I haven't posted. I'm guessing I've just been entirely too busy wallowing. I'm usually not much of a wallower, but sometimes it has to be done. Life is kicking me in the head right now. You know about the illness I suffered a little while back, the surgery about 5-6 weeks ago and my grandmother passing away. But, there's more, oh so much more... :(

First... This is my son's father. He has to report to prison today. That's six years that my son will be without his father. That's six years that my husband and I won't get any child support. It's horrible and crazy. My son is having such a hard time. He's acting out in school and at home. I am at a loss as to what to do to help him.

Second... The gastro specialist is talking surgery. I don't have six weeks of leave left to consider getting the surgery. I'm supposed to go to Georgetown for a consultation with the surgeon. I don't want another surgery... :(

Third... My laptop, much like my body has decided to fall apart. I took her to the geek squad and really hope they figure out how to help the poor darling. She's only two years old. Such a short life. Wish me luck on her getting better. My husband and I want to play World of Warcraft, but we can't until Daisy (that's my laptop) gets better...

Okay... Apparently, I'm still wallowing... (Sorry!)

On a better note, I can knit again. I keep attempting lace over and over again. I have no clue why it's not working for me. I really wish I could figure it out. I'm so stubborn. I keep on trying...

Back at work...

2006-03-29T06:52:00.000-08:00

I came back to work last Friday. But, I have been busy ever since. :( This is the first quasi-break I've had so far. Honestly, between the 5 students and 3 faculty members, things seemed to have gone pretty well at work. I didn't come back to a monstrous pile of dishes (which is always nice!) I have nightmares when I'm not here about the piles of dishes that I will come back to. I'm so glad to know that everyone can pitch in and take care of things for me. I guess that means that I am replaceable. It just takes 8 people! LOL

Met with my supervisor yesterday for my evaluation. I received the "Expected Level of Performance." I have resigned myself to be average. I'm okay with average. The last couple of years, I took being average really poorly. I'm proud of myself this year, no crying and no going home to sleep off the crying (not like I have the leave left for that!)

My finger is healing nicely. It turns out that I will not be able to fully use it until six weeks after the surgery. The joint itself doesn't hurt. Every once in a while it gets a little sore depending on how much I use it. I'm allowed to use it some, but I need to be careful not to over-do it. The incision isn't healed yet. I go the stitches out on Monday. They used nylon stitches. The stitches were the worse part as far as I'm concerned. They were too hard and they pulled too much. The incision is at the base of my thumb and it's a really bad area. Part of the cut is still partially open. The doctor's office gave me these things that look like little pieces of tape. I call them my sticker stitches. I have to use them for about three more days. They are much less painful than the nylon stitches. So, now all I have on the incision is those sticker stitches on the one side and a band-aid to keep the dirt out. I try to take the band-aid off for a while in the evenings so that it can get air, but it feels really weird not having anything on it. I have these really horrible pictures in my head of the incision pulling open and my thumb falling off. I know that's not going to happen, but I guess I'm being a bit of a baby. I'm also being a baby because I haven't been able to knit for two weeks!!! :( I might try a bit of knitting and see if it doesn't hurt too much after I stop using the sticker stitches and the incision seems to have healed. I really can't wait for that. I'm tired of "picking my nose." LOL

Well, I think I've droned on enough about my miserable life. I'm sure you are all bored to tears. Don't get the tears on the keyboard. They are a pain to clean out and you don't want to mess up your keyboard because I'm so boring! :)

A very bad month...

2006-03-15T06:09:00.000-08:00

March has been horrible to me. I got a stomach bug. I had a fever, vomiting and diarrhea. It's been really bad. The vomiting and the fever went away. The rest still hasn't gone away. It's been two weeks. My doctor is thinking I have IBS since this has been an ongoing and frequent theme in my life. :( Tomorrow is my surgery and I have no idea how long I will have to be out of work. I know I won't be at work on Thursday, Friday or Monday. Wednesday is my first post-op appointment and I'm really hoping that things go well enough that I don't have to take too much time off. I had to use sick leave all last week and that has nearly used up all my sick leave. I am really hoping they get everything figured out soon and that I will be all better and not have so many problems. I stayed relatively healthy for a long time.

More bad news... My memere (french for grandmother) passed away last week. I was unable to travel to Massachusetts to the funeral because I was too ill. At the time I would have had to leave, my doctor was considering hospitalizing me. I am going to miss my memere. She was a very sweet lady and I loved her greatly.

I'm very excited about the brunch at ppsassygrl's on Saturday. And then Saturday evening, my entire family is going to Medieval Times. We even bought royalty tickets so we get to sit in the front row! That's very exciting. :)

Fred was really sweet while I was sick. He was stuck working 12-13 hour days everyday, so I didn't get to see much of him. I was a pain because I was miserable and scared. (I'd never been that sick in my entire life.) He bought me "Pride and Prejudice", "Walk the Line", "Sense and Sensibility" and "Prime" to watch this weekend. They were all really good movies. I watched "Pride and Prejudice" twice this weekend and am dying to get another copy of the book. I really want to read it again. Yesterday we picked up "10 things I hate about you", "Karate Kid", "Say Anything" and Season 4 of Charmed. So those should help me keep busy after the surgery. I also bought "Jane Eyre", "Mansfield Park" and "Sense and Sensibility" to keep me busy reading. But I will look forward to calls from friends while I'm home. I promise I won't keep you on the phone long because I'm not much of a phone talker. But it will be nice to hear some voices. :)

Okay... Well, don't expect another entry for a couple of weeks while I'm recuperating! :)

Type two...

2006-03-01T04:46:00.000-08:00

I took a cute little personality test. It was easy. Here's the results. What do you think? Is it me?

the Helper
Test finished!

you chose CX - your Enneagram type is TWO.

"I must help others"

Helpers are warm, concerned, nurturing, and sensitive to other people's needs.

How to Get Along with Me

Tell me that you appreciate me. Be specific.
Share fun times with me.
Take an interest in my problems, though I will probably try to focus on yours.
Let me know that I am important and special to you.
Be gentle if you decide to criticize me.

In Intimate Relationships

Reassure me that I am intersting to you.
Reassure me often that you love me.
Tell me I'm attractive and that you're glad to be seen with me.

What I Like About Being a Two

being able to relate easily to people and to make friends
knowing what people need and being able to make their lives better
being generous, caring, and warm
being sensitive to and perceptive about others' feelings
being enthusiastic and fun-loving, and having a good sense of humor

What's Hard About Being a Two

not being able to say no
having low self-esteem
feeling drained from overdoing for others
not doing things I really like to do for myself for fear of being selfish
criticizing myself for not feeling as loving as I think I should
being upset that others don't tune in to me as much as I tume in to them
working so hard to be tactful and considerate that I suppress my real feelings

Twos as Children Often

are very sensitive to disapproval and criticism
try hard to please their parents by being helpful and understanding
are outwardly compliant
are popular or try to be popular with other children
act coy, precocious, or dramatic in order to get attention
are clowns and jokers (the more extroverted Twos), or quiet and shy (the more introverted Twos)

Twos as Parents

are good listeners, love their children unconditionally, and are warm and encouraging (or suffer guilt if they aren't)
are often playful with their children
wonder: "Am I doing it right?" "Am I giving enough?" "Have I caused irreparable damage?"
can become fiercely protective

Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele

The Enneagram Made Easy
Discover the 9 Types of People
HarperSanFrancisco, 1994, 161 pages

You liked the test? so please RATE it :-)

You are not completely happy with the result?!
You chose CX

Would you rather have chosen:

AX (SEVEN)

BX (NINE)

CY (SIX)

CZ (ONE)

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 0% on ABC

You scored higher than 30% on XYZ

Link: The Quick and Painless ENNEAGRAM Test written by felk on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

It's been too long...

2006-02-22T05:14:00.000-08:00

I guess without ppsassygrl here to remind me to update my blog, I just don't do it. In my defense, things have been crazy for me. Shortly after the last update, I developed some kind of bump in my left thumb joint. It's been painful. I haven't been able to knit (I did get that Nantasket Basket done. I also got another one done in shades of green in Cascade 220.) I have been to the doctor's, gotten a sonogram done on my thumb and have been to an orthopedic doctor. I have a cystic lesion. It's some kind of cyst thing in the bone. I have to have surgery on March 16th. She's going to remove the cyst and adjust the pulley in my left thumb. I will have to go two weeks without being able to use that thumb. I'm very unhappy about that. I actually cried when she told me. I won't be able to knit and I won't be able to do my job at work. I'm such an independent person that I have the worse time with this. I was miserable when I couldn't knit because of the pain in the thumb. I'm going to have to figure out how to knit without my left thumb.

I'm totally obsessed with the Nantasket Basket. I have finished two already. I have one on the needles that is almost finshed. And have yarn to make about 7 more. They are so much fun to make. I wonder when I'll get tired of the pattern (prolly never!) LOL I also bought the stuff to make myself a purse. The KISS purse by Sally Melville. I had bought a varigated in shades of blue and green. I had originally bought some light green Cascade 220 to go with it, but I have decided that I want to use Onxy by Lamb's Pride. But, of course the LYS is sold out of it. I was hoping to have it completed before my surgery! But, it doesn't look like that will happen. :(

I hope everyone enjoyed the long post. Wish me luck in my surgery. I'll try to update again before then! :)

Nantasket Basket...

2006-02-02T06:11:00.000-08:00

I had told myself that I was going to finish some old projects and not start any new projects. I was wrong. I was home alone Saturday and had every intention of working on some of those projects that have been sitting half done. I was really planning on figuring out a particular hard band on Heirloom Christmas. It's that band where I cut the fabric before I stitch it. It's kind of scary to me and that project has been sitting for over a year! But, I couldn't bring myself to do it...

Instead... I started my Nantasket Basket. I used the Winter Night and Mulled Wine. It turned out really pretty. I haven't felted it yet because I don't have a zippered pillowcase. I heard that someone messed up their entire plumbing system from felting stuff at home. I don't have the money to replace my plumbing system, so I will wait to felt it, but it turned out great. I think I want to make one for my mom and my brother's girlfriend. I think I may make one for my son's teacher as well. I don't know her favorite colors, so Jesse is supposed to find out the colors we should use.

Jesse was in a school play last night. He played the horse's head for a Johnny Appleseed skit. It was really cute. Jesse did a good job. :)

As always, work has been crazy and this week is taking forever to be over!!!! I'm so glad tomorrow's Friday. Fred gets paid and I'm going to order the yarn for mom's and Jenny's basket. :)

I tried lace knitting on the Adamas Shawl from Knitpicks. But, I can't seem to get the hang of it. My YO's twist too much and I can't find my stitches. :( I think it may have something to do with the way I knit... I think Eva should tell me how she does it! :)

No more ponytails....

2006-01-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

I got my hair cut. :) I have a much shorter style now. The lady cut off 5 inches of hair. No more ponytails! :)

Saturday, my hubby and I went shopping. We went to Prince Frederick (small town only about 40 min away.) They have a great used bookstore there. I love the used bookstore. I never remember to get my books together to get a credit. I just keep buying more. We also went to Fashion Bug there. I was looking for a particular sweater. Instead of finding that sweater, I bought three new shirts that were on clearance. I just love clearance! :)

We also went to Lowe's this weekend. I have a shelf up in my utility room. I have been wanting one forever. Fred finally decided that he would put it up for me. I don't have to have all my laundry accoutrements on my dryer anymore. It makes it much easier to clean out the dryer filter!

The rest of the weekend was spent cleaning. The boys both got to leave the house to do fun things on Sunday. I was stuck home cleaning. :( I didn't even get any time for doing any crafts.

I bought some cool origami stuff on eBay today. I can't wait until it gets here! (Shhh... Don't tell the hubby!)

Not quite right...

2006-01-20T09:23:00.000-08:00

Your Scholastic Strength Is Developing Ideas

You can take a spark of inspiration and turn it into a full fledged concept.

You are talented at brainstorming, visualizing, organizing, and independent thinking.

You should major in:

Natural sciences

Computer science

Creative writing

Math

Architecture

Journalism

What Should You Major In?

Wow! This is so far off from what I do, but I didn't see any questions that would have included busting your ass, breaking your back and receiving little to no recognition. I also didn't find the working on weekends and holidays... Oh well! :)

Computer science is the field most of my family is in. I know I'm good with computers, but I just had to be different. Maybe that's why I make so much less money than they do! :)

Mysterious but boring... LOL

2006-01-19T04:31:00.000-08:00

What is your sexual appeal?
brought to you by Quizilla

This is interesting. I know I've been described as aloof. Maybe I was really mysterious and not aloof. :) Thanks cara-angelica for the really great quiz. So, my life has been pretty boring lately. No big new purchases like cara-angelica (too poor for that). No big new jobs like ppsassygrl. Not even the excitement of going back to school like sleepgrl25.

I've made quite a bit of progress on piecing together that crocheted afghan. Otherwise all I really do is go through Sudoku puzzles. I found a good book at BJ's this weekend and have been spending all my time doing those puzzles. They really really really are addicting!!!!!

I hope everyone's life is much more exciting than mine.

Trying to do better...

2006-01-10T07:08:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to do better with posting. I still think my life is boring. :) I've been reading about dinner parties that cara_angelica and ppsassygrl throw. I had to go and ask exactly what a dinner party entails. I've never been to one. cara_angelica says that they are just having people come over and cooking dinner for them. In that case I have tons of dinner parties! :) Yay! I'm not missing anything! :) In fact, this weekend I had a breakfast party. I have those frequently as well. My family finds out that I'm cooking my husband's favorite breakfast on the weekend and they all descend upon my house. They are insistent that I make the best sausage gravy and biscuits ever. :) I needed some furniture moved this weekend, so I had a breakfast party so that my brother would be there to help move furniture and spare myself some heavy lifting. :) Slick, aren't I? My mom and my brother's gf, decided to clean my kitchen (spotless!) while they were there. :) Not too shabby, eh?

Fred's big dog made my brother's gf's daughter (wow! possessive hell!) fall down and knock out her tooth. (the tooth was already loose...) She was playing outside and he was chained out. He tripped her with his chain. Fred has a very sweet dog, he's just really big and not really smart. I'm sure he couldn't tell where his chain was. In my defense, I did tell her not to play in the yard when the dog is chained out. But, she's six and chose not to listen...

I'm off tomorrow. I plan on doing some relaxing... :) I finished watching Season 5 of Gilmore Girls. I'm looking forward to the new episode tonight (finally!!!) I have 4 squares left to do on the kaleidoscope afghan, then I just have to attach 48 squares together!

A really long time...

2006-01-04T04:37:00.000-08:00

It's been a really long time since I updated... I know, I'm horrible. I love reading everyone's updates, but I'm not nice enough to update my own blog. I guess I just really feel that I have nothing to say. I feel like if I go on about my life, I'm going to bore you all...

Christmas was really nice. I got "Tru Calling." Fred got me season 1 and my mil got me season 2. I watched that over the break. It was a great show. Fred also got "South Park" seasons 2 and 3 for me. I also got the last season of "Friends" and season 5 of "Gilmore Girls." I also got some books on stained glass. I'm dying to learn how to do it and my only option around here is to learn from a book. :( Lastly, I got some clothes and some books and videos on working with polymer clay. I had a great Christmas.

Over the break, I got a quilt that I had been working on for several years done. I also finally started sewing Jesse's rag quilt. It's all made with flannels that he picked out. And I'm down to having 5 more squares to crochet for an afghan I've been working on for a really long time. I started it a tad bit after Fred and I were married. If work would give me more time at home, I could get more projects done. LOL I did manage to get 21 hours of comp time over the holiday. :)

I can't really think of much more news to share. I hope everyone had a great holiday. I hope everyone is in good health! :)

The Sun King...

2005-12-05T05:01:00.000-08:00

Sun King
You scored 35 shyness, 30 bitterness, 57 moral, and 40 eccentric!

You are the Sun King, from Abbey Road! You are probably very popular within your circle of friends. You are calm, collected, and wise, but you also have a tremendous sense of humor. You party and have fun, but you don't neglect your responsibilities. "Here comes the sun king Everybody's laughing Everybody's happy Here comes the sun king"

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 40% on shyness

You scored higher than 80% on bitterness

You scored higher than 40% on moral

You scored higher than 40% on eccentric

Link: The Beatles Song Character Test written by medical_cannoli on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

And this without any prompting...

2005-11-28T09:54:00.000-08:00

I'm actually updating without any prompting... I had a few questions about Jesse's cat scan. The doctor said that it was all normal. My family thinks that we should have the machines re-calibrated or something... NOTHING about my son is normal. He is my son after all!

I got 5 days off of work for the Thanksgiving holiday. It was so nice not having to come into work for 5 days! I had a great time! It went by way too quickly!!! :( I started and finished the latest book by my favorite author, Christine Feehan. It's called Night Game. It's the third installment in her Ghostwalkers series. I must admit that the Ghostwalkers are my favorite of all her series, although they are all great! :) I also finished reading Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks. All I can really say about that is "How sad!" It's amazing that a man can write these stories for women. He must really be in touch with his feminine side. I haven't seen the movie, but I hope to see it soon. I watched a Walk to Remember after I read the book. I'm glad I did. The Notebook was better as a movie, however. :) And now I started reading Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I saw the movie when it was in the theaters. It was really good.

I also bought and finished watching Charmed Season 3. I also got lots of crocheting done. I was really on a crocheting kick this weekend.

Well, I need to get back to work now! :)

I'm a sucker for tests....

2005-11-16T05:29:00.000-08:00

Not Bad!!
You speak well 100 percent of the time!

Nice job my friend!! You may speak to the general public freely.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 47% on grammar

Link: The Grammar Test written by deckity on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

I'm such a sucker when it comes to online tests! :) I just love them! Thanks ppsassygirl!!! I find it interesting that although we both scored 100%, I'm only above 47% of my age group and you are 71% above yours. I guess it says something about our age groups... hmmm... something to ponder. :)

Nothing new since yesterday... Today's payday and I get to be the middleman again. I think that my work should just pay my bills directly. It's not like I get to keep any of the money! LOL

(And I KNOW you are shocked that I posted another blog this week! Sorry I'm so boring!!!) :)

2005-11-15T07:50:00.000-08:00

It's been a week, and another entry has been requested. The only problem is that I'm boring and my life is boring. I did nothing but rest and work this weekend. The resting part I enjoyed... the work part... blah! But at least I have this:

Your Observation Skills Get An A-

Hardly anything gets by you...
You have a great memory and eagle eyes

How Observant Are You?

I hope you all have fun with that quiz. NO CHEATING!!! :)

I applied for several jobs today. I guess I'm tired of being underpaid and overworked. It's a common occurrence here.

I finally got my mom to come over last week so that I could felt her slippers. They turned out really cute. I also got a kid's hat and scarf set done for knits for the needy. I also found this cool yahoo! group called freecycle.org. They are locate people that are giving stuff away. It's pretty neat. I haven't seen anything I need, but I think I will post some stuff on there and keep checking for stuff that I might like!

Back to work for me! :(

Why do we do it???

2005-11-08T07:26:00.000-08:00

That's my issue today. Why do we do it? Why am I sending my kid to school everyday for the past week (and two days this week) feeling sick? My reasoning is that I have too much to do at work to take off with him. It's the same reason that I'm going to work everyday sick... But it's not as if you get appreciation. I worked extra hours last week while I was sick (I'm still sick, but feeling a little better than last week.) Why should my work be more important than my son? I really don't feel that it is on a regular basis, but this past week I have definitely chosen work over letting my son stay home and feel better (myself as well...) I long for the simplier days. The days when a mother could stay home with her kids instead of coming to work everyday. I could do without my second vehicle in my house. I could borrow my husband's and do my shopping (grocery only) on Saturday. I could fill my days with cleaning my house and making sure my husband and son are taken care of.

All that working and I get a nasty email from my supervisor for having taken a hour off yesterday afternoon... I worked 5 extra hours... while I was sick... I have to work this weekend... one of those extra hours last week was because she gets to take off every other Friday and spend it with her son... I had to do her work. All the supervisors in the lab are going out of town and I have to take care of everything for them. Why don't I quit? They took away all my person space. I have no office. I don't even have anywhere I belong. I get a computer on their lab counters... What the hell am I doing?????????

Already?!?!?!?!?

2005-11-01T07:28:00.000-08:00

You Are a New School Democrat

You like partying and politics - and are likely to be young and affluent.

You're less religious, traditional, and uptight than most Democrats.

Smoking pot, homosexuality, and gambling are all okay in your book.

You prefer that the government help people take care of themselves.

What political persuasion are you?

This really does about sum me up. :) I always knew I had very similar views at ppsassygrl. I too am missing the affluent part! :(

I don't really have a whole lot to say since I just updated yesterday. I really do enjoy all the blogthings we can play with. :)

I do know that a new free online knitting magazine just came out. It's called the AntiCraft. It is a touch of humour and some neat patterns. Hope everyone enjoys my link-heavy post today! :)

New post! :)

2005-10-31T11:51:00.000-08:00

You Are a Tulip

You have a wild, experimental side that craves change.
You often switch jobs and men, always looking for something better.
But deep down, you're also very well grounded and content.
And you will come to know that the life you live is already ideal.

What Flower Are You?

You will get two new posts in one day. The post I made last week never published, so I'm sure you guys missed it! :) Today I'm a tulip. :)

I went camping this weekend. It's the last one of the year. It's too cold to go camping now. Now I will sit by my fireplace at home. :) I will knit and watch movies. I love winter! :) When I woke up on Sunday morning, there was a layer of ice over everything! I think that might be a sign to call it a camping hiatus... :) I didn't get any knitting done at all this weekend. I didn't even knit in the car this time! :( I hope to get some stuff done soon. I didn't read at all this weekend. I sat around the camp fire and enjoyed everyone's company. :) That's it! But, it was so worth it. I don't really think I have much more to say today. Just Happy Halloween!!! :)

Reporting in...

2005-10-24T05:47:00.000-07:00

I took this cute quiz that tells you what character you are. I'm Princess Leia. :) I always liked her when I was a kid. Want to see what character you are?

I went camping this weekend. It was cold and rainy, but we had a good time. At one point I had on three layers of clothing! LOL

Jesse's ct scan came out normal! I'm very happy to report that! :)

On my reading: I'm currently reading Message in a Bottle by Nick Sparks and Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.

On knitting news: My knits for the needy scarf is about half done. I have less than a month to finish it. Knitty.com a really cute pattern for felted pumpkins. I had to go and buy the yarn for it on Friday afternoon. I didn't leave work until an hour after I am supposed to leave. :( I'm working on a mohair teddy bear and Fred's indoor felted boots. :) I really want to get back to my baby blanket UFO. It's pretty big and will keep me warm while I'm knitting it! :) I also want to find some soft acrylic and make myself an afghan this winter. I keep my house so cold all winter that knitting an afghan will keep me warm! :)

Other news: I really want to go camping again this weekend. It's our last chance until Spring. But, I don't know how to tell the people at work that I can't feed again this weekend. I mean I will be available every weekend after this one, but I really want to go camping one last time! :(

Updating...

2005-10-17T05:13:00.000-07:00

I am finally updating this blog. I had a really good weekend. My son and I went with my mother, a friend and a friend's daughter to a hot air balloon festival. Fred was on call and couldn't go with us. It was too windy and the balloons couldn't fly. We spent the day roaming around looking at all the little shops. They had a merry-go-round and the kids got to ride it. I think my son likes shopping way too much. I told him that I would only buy him one thing and that he should look around and decide what that one thing should be. He had decided on a hand-crafter wood toy. When we went back for it, it was gone. But we had missed a kite vendor. Jesse ended up picking out a kite that looked like a hot air balloon and mini-kite. It was called a pocket kite. I got one too.

On Sunday, we dragged Fred with us and found a field down by where I work and flew kites. We had a bag with two kites in it that someone had bought for Jesse a long time ago and we had never used it. We had a lot of fun. We were out there for about three hours. Next time I'm going to take pictures. I really want to go fly a kite again! :)

Creepy...

2005-10-04T04:47:00.000-07:00

Your Summer Ride is a Jeep

For you, summer is all about having no responsibilities.
You prefer to hang with old friends - and make some new ones.

What's Your Summer Ride?

How did this computer program know???? I love jeep wranglers and one of these days I will own one! :) I saw one this weekend that had a cover on the tire in the back that said "Silly boys, don't you know that jeeps are for girls?" I love it. I'm not so sure that my father and brother would like it, considering that they both drive jeeps. LOL I had to get a more "family" vehicle. But one of these days...

I went to the doctor's yesterday. I have been coughing like crazy for nearly two weeks now. I've had enough. The doctor switched my allergy medication, upped my asthma medication and gave me some cough syrup and antibiotics. The best part is the cough syrup. It has codeine in it. I'm very susceptible to the effects of codeine. That's all well and good at night, but what about during the day???? I guess I'll take it when I first get to work and hope that I'm not too flighty all day long. I really can't take more time off. I mean I have the leave, but I always feel like I'm letting people down if I call in sick... :(

I finished the french market bag. It turned out really well. It was the first thing I had ever felted and I love it!!!! I can't wait to finish mom's slippers (yes, I did work on them!) so that I can felt those too. I also started my scarf for the knits for the needy. I also can't wait to start the modular felted backpack by hyphen boy designs. :)

I finished reading Where the Heart is. I have to go digging through my big box of books to see what I want to read next. I'm pretty sure it will be another fun book. I don't think I'm smart enough to read educational or enlightening books all the time. :) I'll just have to be jealous of some other smart blogger who can read those books all the time!!! :)

Cat Scan...

2005-10-03T05:05:00.000-07:00

I know that most, if not all, of you have hear 'Twas the night before Christmas. The children had sugar plums dancing through their heads. Well, last night while I was trying to sleep, I had Cat Scans dancing through my head. :( As you can imagine, I did NOT have a very good night sleep. Why would I have Cat Scans dancing through my head? Well, I found out on Friday that my 9 year old son needs to have a Cat Scan. It seems that the headache's he's been getting lately are a major cause for concern while he's taking the stratera. I've very worried about it. I feel horrible because he really only complains about these headaches when he's doing his homework, or has to go to bed. (Two things that he really doesn't want to do!) So, I would tell him to finish his homework then he'd feel better. At bed time, I'd tell him to go ahead and go to sleep (that's what I want to do when my head hurts.) So, I guess this all means that I'm a horrible mother. I guess my only defense is that he did this type of thing even before he was on the stratera and I thought it was the boy calling wolf. :(

Friday...

2005-09-30T04:33:00.000-07:00

It's finally Friday. You'd think with a shortened week that Friday would have snuck up on me. That isn't the case. I feel like it's been a long tiring week. Work hasn't been that bad except for the fact that I'm still coughing like a maniac!

I finally finished Anna Karenina. I'm glad I'm done with it. It was a good book. I learned a lot about Russian culture. Now I'm going to take some time and read some of the less literary fun books! :) Today I'm going to start Where the Heart is. I've seen the movie, but I'm really excited to read the book. I know that they leave stuff out when they make a book into a movie. It will be a while until I force myself to read another classic. :) Tho, Utopia is sitting by my chair at home! It looks so little and non-frightening!

I have gotten 2 1/2 handles of the French Market bag done. I should be done with the knitting anytime now. Then all I need to do is get brave and try the Kitchener stitch. Those of you who know me well know that I hate trying new things!

Jesse has a doctor's appointment this afternoon, so I get to leave work early. I'm trying to decide if I want to lug my whole fmb with me to knit, or if I want to take the stuff to try a new one in thicker yarn. The dangerous thing is that my LYS is nearly next door to the doctor's office (15-20 min from my house.) We are too poor for me to go shopping there!!!! :( But, I'm so weak! LOL

Tuesday

2005-09-27T05:07:00.000-07:00

Here it is Tuesday and it's my first day of work this week. I still have a bit of a cough, but it was really nice to be off yesterday. :) I decided to take a personal day and relax. I have another cold and can't seem to kick it. I can't stay home sick anymore, so I decided a vacation day was much better! :) I sat home all day and watched season 2 of Charmed. I really do love that show. I'm not so sure about this season. I think they have written themselves into a corner with no way out. Crazy, huh?

I also did a little reading on Anna Karenina this weekend. I am finding it to be a rather strange book. There are parts that I don't want to put it down, but then there are parts when I wish they would just finish what they were saying. For example, I really wanted Tolstoy to hurry up and finish the part about the elections. It was getting annoying! But, I was really entralled with Dolly's visit to Anna. Isn't that strange???? BTW... I'm on page 672 now! I'm so close to finishing it. As long as there are no more elections (or parts like that) I should be done soon. I've never looked forward to the end of a book like this. I usually hate to have a book end. Sometimes, I feel like I have lost a friend that I will sorely miss. I'm not sure I'll miss anyone this time!

I have one handle of the French Market bag knitted. I am pretty proud of myself. I think I will have a second handle done tonight while I ignore my family and watch the newest Gilmore Girls and Supernatural! :) They know not to bother me between 8pm and 10 pm on Tuesday night. Considering that's the only time I ask them not to bother me, I don't think I'm asking too much! :)

Meatball pizza! (I've never even tried it!)

2005-09-21T04:33:00.000-07:00

Meatball Pizza

Unusual and uncompromising.
You're usually the first to discover a new trend.
You appreciate a good meal and good company.
You're an interesting blend of traditional and modern.

What's Your Pizza Personality?

So, this is not my pizza of choice to eat, but it certainly sounds good! :)

I went camping this weekend. I drank too much and stayed up too late! But, that was fun. I had a hard time sleeping. My cold either got worse, or I got a brand new one because I'm all stuffed up today. :( I hate being sick!!!

This has been a strange week. The moon has been so bright every morning. I get up before the sun and take my dogs outside. The moon is making my back yard look like I have a street light above it. It's pretty, but a little creepy. (I had typed sleepy, but I think that was just a Freudian slip! LOL)

I'm still reading Anna Karenina. A friend told me that the last 300 pages are really good. I'm on page 500. I have like 4 more pages to go through until I get to the good stuff. (I hope!) Right now, they are talking to an artist. I wonder how Tolstoy is going to tie this into the rest of the book...

I'm still working on the french market bag. I decided I wanted MORE rows before I started the handles. I thought I was done, but I think it will be too shallow unless I add these rows.

I signed up for a club here at work. It's called Knits for the Needy. We have local companies supply stuff so that we can make hats and scarves for the homeless in our area. I think this sounds great. I get to do something I love and still give back to the community.

I want to apologize to all my friends that read this. I'm really sorry that I have no time to email everyone! I miss you guys! :(

Before anyone gets nasty...

2005-09-15T04:40:00.000-07:00

Your Brain's Pattern

You have a tempered, reasonable way of thinking.
You tend to take every new idea in, and meld it with your world view.
For you, everything is always changing. Each moment is different.
Your thinking process tends to be very natural - with no beginnings or endings.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

Before any gets nasty (nastier!) I've decided to update my blog. First, the above is my brain with no sleep. We got a new little dog. She's a Rat Terrier. Her name is Harley-Quinn. She really is a sweet dog. We are trying to crate train her. It's been working so far, but last night was horrible. Fred kept coughing his head off and the dog kept barking back! I'm so tired. Plus, the stupid weather went from nice temperate days to hot, humid and sticky. I'm not happy at all about this!

Harley is going to get a shampoo and manicure. Her hair is short enough that I don't have to get it cut. :) That was a definite plus in picking out Harley. She and the big dog Jay are getting along much better now. So much so, that she steals his big chew bones right out from under him. LOL It's really cute.

I'm still reading Anna Karenina. I'm not reading it very fast. :( This is the downfall of making myself read a book. I don't read it as often as I should and I won't pick up another book that I really want to read. I'm around page 400 now, so I am making some progress...

I got all the yarn for the felted modular backpack. I have a couple of things to finish before I can start anything of this magnitude. (Mom's slipper and my FMB)

Well, I have tons of work to do, so I should go do it!!!! :)

I'm the fool and our nasty house guest...

2005-09-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

I am The Fool

The Fool can signal a new beginning or change of direction - one that will guide you onto a path of adventure, wonder and personal growth. He also reminds you to keep your faith and trust your natural responses. If you are facing a decision or moment of doubt, the Fool tells you to believe in yourself and follow your heart no matter how crazy or foolish your impulses may seem.

I decided that I wanted to know what card I am. How fitting is this one??? LOL I just had to share it with you.

Good news-- My friend that was affected by Hurricane Katrina has been found (okay, so she wasn't really lost, but we finally heard from her.) I'm very relieved to know that she is okay.

Knitting news-- I'm nearly done with the bag part of the french market bag (see earlier post.) I'm very excited about this. Now I get to move on to the handles. I also took a little time to make myself some really neat beaded stitch markers. I love them!!! I'll have to find some time to post some pics!

Reading news-- I'm very proud of myself. I have made it to page 350 of Anna Karenina. So, even if I put it down for two years now (which I hope I don't do, but there are so many other books that I want to read...) I have more than doubled my progress. :)

Family news-- My family has had the priviledge of hosting a house guest... It's a nasty little guest that will be refered to as the head cold from here on out. All three of us were under the weather for 4 days. It was the nastiest head cold we've had in our house for a while. For the most part, the head cold has moved out. I don't think we will be inviting him back anytime soon... I hope that he understands that we don't take kindly to squatters... Nobody in my house could do anything but sleep for those 4 days. It was miserable!!!!

2005-08-31T04:48:00.000-07:00

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 9 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

I decided that I would try to take the Citizenship Test. There were some hard questions there. I wasn't sure how good I'd do. LOL Looks like I'm smarter than I think. :)

Okay... so I'm supposed to tell you about my life...

Right now, I spend all my free time I can knitting. I have one indoor felted boot (from Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles by Cat Bordhi) done and another started. I'm using a light blue/grey color. The first set is for my mother. She's a bit upset that only one is done right now. She said that she's only going to have one warm foot this winter. I have 2/3 done on the french market bag from knitty.com. I'm using Cascade 220 in a green and grey mix. I'm really excited that the pattern is going so good. :) It's nice simple knitting so that I don't really have to pay too much attention to it while I'm doing it. And lastly, I have have all the stuff together to start Clapotis from knitty.com. I just have to work out the kfb and pfb. :) I knit in a combined method that is much quicker than when I was knitting with the english method, but the stitches turn out slightly different.

Oh yeah! I'm also reading Anna Karenina. (At least I'm trying to read it again...) I really want to read it, but it's so hard to get into. I read the first 140 pages two years ago and put it down. It took two years to pick it back up, so I had to start all over again. I think of the wasted time... I don't really understand this problem I have with this book. I'm an avid reader. I usually go through a book a day on the weekend. But, this book is torture!!!!! But, I feel I'm missing an experience. I never read Jane Austen when I was younger and have recently read some of her stuff and it was great. I'm glad I didn't let myself miss out on that experience... I hope I can make it through this one!!! :)

Again????

2005-08-26T04:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am writing again. It's amazing, no? :)

The trip was long and tiring. We didn't get home until around 11 pm last night. It was a four hour drive each way. I got a little knitting done on the drive, but not much. On the way down to the funeral, I was in the back of the cab of a pick-up truck (albeit a very big pick-up truck) with my son and brother. Space was limited, so I didn't get too much knitting done because I was a little cramped. Fred drove down yesterday morning. I got to ride back in the passenger seat of my SUV. I was much more comfortable on the way back.

I am very tired. I didn't sleep well. First, I couldn't fall asleep, then I kept waking up. The pinnacle of my night was Fred waking me up because he was yelling "They cut the power." at the top of his lungs. I have no clue why I sleep in the same room, much less the same house as my husband. I can't believe that he didn't even wake up through all of that.

Sad day for my family...

2005-08-24T04:27:00.000-07:00

We found out late last night that my uncle Bobby passed away. We are all going to miss him. Bobby was a wonderful person. He always had a smile and a laugh for everyone he met. He had one of those laughs that made you smile. No matter what your mood and no matter what was going on in your life, you were guaranteed to smile when you were around Bobby. As my aunt Dot put it "Bobby was the heart of our family." I don't think truer words have ever been spoken. Bobby had a talent for making someone feel comfortable in any surrounding. I'll always appreciate all the hugs, smiles and laughs he had for me when I was a kid. I'll never forget him.

It's a shame that life keeps you away from you family more than you would like it to. The everyday grind keeps you bogged down so that you are too wrapped up in your own life of trying to make ends meet to really appreciate your family the way you should. Those of us who are left are stuck with the regrets of not having spent enough time with those you love. I have to wonder if paying your bills on time and keeping your house neat are really worth the time away from your family.

Jesse is taking it hard. I didn't get to tell him until this morning before I left for work. He snuggled with me for a bit, but then I had to tell him that I had to go to work. I hate doing that to him. I hope that he gets caught up with playing with the kids, etc at the babysitters. We had two dogs die the week before last and my uncle Jimmy moved out of town last week. That's a lot for a 9 year old to deal with. I told him that if he needs me to have the babysitter call me. I guess that's all I can really do.

Camping this weekend...

2005-06-20T07:37:00.000-07:00

I went camping with my family this weekend in Fredericksburg, VA. We had a great time. I drank way too much while sitting by the fire. I'm sure that won't help with losing weight! I weighed this morning and it seems that so far I have managed to maintain my previous weight. I guess I'll see on Wednesday.

I got to stop at a knitting store in Fredericksburg. I bought some more sock yarn. I think I'm obsessed with the stuff! It was really pretty. I have been buying it online too. I've found some really good deals. I bought a wood pair of dpns. I don't like them at all. I like the metal dpns. Metal dpns are really hard to find around here. They didn't even have any decent metal dpns at the knitting store I went to. :( I ordered some Addi dpn off the internet. They were backordered and I have to keep waiting for them. I've gotten 1 1/2 inches done of the 4 inch cuff. I'm a slow knitter and don't have a lot of time to devote to it. :( I am really enjoying working with the dpns.

I'm hoping to go camping this weekend too. I don't know if I will be able to. I will be in Williamsburg on 4th of July weekend. That will be three weekends off in a row at work. I don't know how well that will work. I'll see if I can get someone to feed the rats for me this weekend. :) They all know I will be out of town the weekend after and I guess they will have to figure it out, but I still feel guiltly. The rats like to eat on the weekends too! LOL

Not so good...

2005-06-06T06:34:00.000-07:00

I haven't been updating this as much as I would have liked to. :( I've been bad.

Lately--

I'm still working on the blocks for my paper piecing class. I have to get more fabric cut out before my next class. The next class is June 13th, so I really have to get that fabric cut this weekend.

I joined Curves (a workout place for women). I'm going to it very faithfully. I was really bad with what I ate this weekend, so I'm sure it won't be a good week at weight watchers. :( Next week will be better.

I am reading my way through the Dark Series by Christine Feehan. I really love those books. I just started Dark Legend last night.

I'm working on two knitted and one crochet afghan (currently in my mind as being worked on.) LOL I bought some Addi Turbo needles and really love them.

So far, so good...

2005-04-11T05:29:00.000-07:00

I'm definitely making progress on this blog. I'm actually remembering to update it!!! :) I'm so proud of myself. Now I just need to work on my procrastinating ways!!! LOL

This weekend...

Saturday, my son's first soccer game was cancelled. :( It rained all day on Friday. I don't think parents like their little one's out playing in the mud. I think that it builds strong character! LOL Besides, that's what they make trash bags for... so my son could actually ride home in my vehicle! :) Saturday afternoon we went to Bowie, MD for a show my dad's singing group put on. It was a pretty good show. I got to see several really good barbershop quartets. They were great! There were even two that were all girl barbershop quartets. I went to Border's afterwards and finally got my long awaited copy of Dark Prince by Christine Feehan. She's an excellent author and I want to read everything she has written. Luckily they reprinted this one. $40 on ebay was a bit too steep for me! Especially for a paperback!

On Sunday, we did a lot of hauling. We had to create our wood pile. We had an entire truck load of oak that needed to be stacked. It was very backbreaking work, but it was really good for me. I'm not even all that sore. :) The only lasting effect I have is that I wore short sleeve shirt. I was carrying the wood on my left arm and I now have little red bumps as if I was allergic to something. I'm sure it's not poison ivy or poison oak or anything like that. The bumps are really tiny and too spread out for anything like that. Who knows! My skin is always so strange! After stacking the wood, Fred and I went to do our grocery shopping. But, we can't just go to one store... LOL We have to go to a bulk store and then a regular grocery store. :) When we got back, Vince helped me cut my fabric for my paper piecing class tonight. So, at least all my homework is done! :)

Okay, so I was a bit long winded!!!! Sorry if you're tired of reading! :)

Wednesday, April 6

2005-04-06T06:41:00.000-07:00

I had Aqua Aerobics last night. I think the instructor was trying to kill us! She worked us harder than normal and made us wear these floaters on our ankles. So, not only did we have to work out harder, but we had to work at keeping our feet underwater! I float really well and it was quite a trial to keep my feet under water. I didn't even wear a floating belt because I was floating so well without it! LOL I have my WW meeting tonight. I don't think I lost any weight, but we will see. My scale at home has been doing some really strange things. It goes up and down by 10lbs! It's a new scale and should not be acting like that!

After I got home, I got to use my light box. It works really great. I love it!!! :) I also got another of the my silk ribbon embroidery blocks done. All and all I had a good night. I'm a bit sore today, but hopefully that will go away! :)

Monday, April 4th

2005-04-04T05:26:00.000-07:00

See... I told you I was going to try really hard! LOL

I had such a busy weekend. I don't even know where to start! I guess I'll start at the beginning. That's usually the best place! :) Friday night Jesse and I went to my Mom and Dad's for dinner. My dad made this excellent stir-fry. It was very yummy. Fred got back into town while we were there. He and Vince came over for dinner too. Mom, Jesse and I ate the last piece of her ice cream cake from her birthday. It's very bad for me, but it tasted so good! LOL

Saturday morning, I got up and went to Aqua Aerobics. Fred, Vince and Jesse met my Mom, Dad and I for breakfast. Then we went and bought all of Jesse's soccer stuff. He was just signed up for soccer and the first game is already next weekend. I really hope he does well. Jesse went with my parents for the day. He loves spending time with them. In the afternoon, I went to Waldorf (45 min away) to the nearest quilt shop. I was supposed to go to a trunk show, but the lady didn't show up. If I would have checked my messages, I would have known that. But, while I was there, I did get the stuff to make my mom's Christmas present. When I came back in town, I found out that Fred was at a water damage, so I met my mom, dad, Jesse and Josh for dinner at THE Mexican restaurant! :) I love that place. Fred didn't get home until mid-night. And he had another call that we had to go out to the next morning. :( Poor baby is tired!

Sunday, I got up and went to Lowe's. I decided that I really needed a light box, but didn't have the money to buy one. My mom and dad decided to meet me there and my dad helped me (well... I did a lot of watching) build a light box. It is great! It is 13x18. A great size! I needed it to get started on my mom's present. :) I didn't get to use it yet, but I'm hoping to use it tonight. We used an old piece of clear plexiglass on top. It's a bit scratched up, but we are going to Massachussetts this summer and my aunt works in a plexiglass factory, so we will be able to get a new piece that isn't scratched up. I love my light box!!! :) It ended up costing me $16! :) Most of the light boxes that size can cost more than $100! :) I'm so lucky to have a crafty daddy! :)

Trying this again...

2005-04-01T07:28:00.000-08:00

I had started a blog a while back. I guess I forgot about it until a friend showed me her blog. I think I'm going to try this whole thing again.

Lots of things have changed since my last blog. I had joined Weight Watchers. I've lost over 46 lbs. I still have over 100 to lose! Sometimes I'm not sure I will ever get there! But, I'll just take it one day at a time and see where it goes. :) I got to Aqua Aerobics. It's a lot of fun. The best part is that you can't tell how hard you worked out until you get out of the water. Last night was my first night back for over two weeks. I had a benign mole removed and couldn't go into the chlorine. I'm sure that would have hurt really bad! But, I survived last night and I feel very proud of myself. :)

Fred is away at a class for work. I had a hard time sleeping last night without him. I have a hard time sleeping with him. He steals all the covers and tries to push me out of bed in his sleep, but I still missed him. Love is crazy, isn't it? LOL

Jesse started on Stratera last night for his ADHD. I hate the idea of medicating him, but we are running out of options. I just hope this works without the horrible side effects that some of the other medications we have tried had. It's going to be a pain because I will have to take off work once a month to take him to the doctor's. We also signed him up for Soccer. So, that's one more thing to keep my evenings busy. Because they weren't busy enough before! LOL