What a weekend

It started with having to get up at 5 am yesterday. I do NOT like getting up that early on a weekend unless I'm getting paid for it. Just sayin... Besides getting a shower and getting the kid up and dressed, I had to try and straighten up the house enough to keep the folks from yelling about the mess. I swear their house looks like no one lives in it most of the time. I prefer the "lived in" look. Ok, so I'm messy. Whatever. The folks showed up a little after 6 am and we were off. We headed towards Madison and then turned south through Janesville. From there we headed towards Lake Geneva and finally our destination. Gurnee Illinois.

I have no freakin clue why the hell we needed to drive up to Madison and back down in order to get to some place that is no farther north than where we started out.

Anyways, thanks to Dad missing one exit and stopping for breakfast, we arrived at Great America at about 11 am. All during the month of October, they are celebrating FearFest in honor of Halloween. So right off the bat, the kid was nervous.

When we entered the park, everything was done up for Halloween. Nick was not liking all the headstones and "dead bodies" all over the place. There were performers in front of the carousel dressed up as zombies and singing some creepy songs. They didn't get too close to us, so he was pretty good.

Our first stop was the motion simulator. Normally it is set up as the space shuttle and you get to experience a space flight. In honor of Halloween, it is set up as Elvira's haunted house. When we first went in, Nick had to flirt with the lady sitting next to us. It made me smile that it didn't faze him one bit that she was black and he just chatted with her. I say this because my folks are bit prejudiced and I so do not want my son following their lead. They aren't openly rude, but they tend to go out of their way to not have direct contact. Anyways, the ride was real cool. I swear it felt like a real roller coaster ride. I had to keep reminding myself that we never actually moved anywhere. hehe Nick claimed afterward that it was scary, but he seemed fine during the ride.

I did manage to talk Nick into going on a couple of the smaller rides. We went on a scrambler first. Halfway through he told me he changed his mind about going on a roller coaster later and then got real quiet. After we got off he was fine though and we headed off to the Whizzer. It’s the smallest of the regular roller coasters. He did really great and I think he enjoyed most of it. I had enough reaction to it to realize that I wasn’t going to be going on the larger rides any time soon. lol

We played a lot of the smaller games that you can win tickets off of. Nick managed to get a small haul of junk toys. My wonderful father talked him into getting a harmonica. The man is a pain. hehehe

The food of course was outrageously priced. When we finally got around to eating lunch, I paid $13.50 for a slice of pizza, some bread sticks and a large Coke. Granted it was a huge piece of pizza but still. They take a small square pan pizza and cut it from corner to corner in fourths. So basically, you end up with a very wide short piece of pizza. I bought the bread sticks for the kid but he of course wouldn’t touch them. I swear I dunno how the kid didn’t pass out from hunger yesterday.

Nick went on all the rides in Camp Cartoon Network. He even went on the mini roller coaster all by himself.

That’s my munchkin in the gray shirt. He looks a lil scared if ya ask me. hehe Forgive the poor quality of the picture. It’s the one that the park snaps of you and is really the only picture we got of him. Mom forgot the camera in the car. Doh!!

The only ride in the campground that scared him was the 10 foot high ferris wheel. lmao The cars were enclosed and there was no danger, but when it stopped with him at the top he started crying a little bit.

Next we spent quite a bit of time in Bugs Bunny National Park. It is full of things for smaller children to do. He spent half an hour in the nature trail. It’s just like the play equipment at the McDonald’s playland. I dang near had to drag him out of there. hehe They had this one lodge that was a total madhouse. Imagine like 50 kids with air guns and air cannons shooting foam balls all over a 3 floor barn. I lost Nick the moment we walked in the door. After about a half hour, I had to drag him out of there so we could go find my folks. They had wandered off to a smoking area and weren’t able to find us when they got back because we were in the lodge getting pummeled. hehe

Next we came on some park employees dressed as evil clowns. Nick just flipped. Mom had gone out and got her camera and tried to get pictures, but later realized that she was hitting the power button and not the one you use to take the pictures. hehe One of the guys was a complete jerk and kept coming after Nick even though he had to realize the kid was terrified. I wasn’t too happy and it reinforced my dislike of clowns. I just don’t like em.

It took us 3 tries to get on the train that runs around the park. It was worth the trouble though. They had a mini show included. The train was highjacked by wild west zombies. Nick was a little freaked out by the actors getting so close to him but afterwards was real excited about the whole show.

Later we went back to playing some of the games. At one point we were at some of the crane games outside and Dad managed to get his quarters stuck in the machine. While we were all hunched over trying to get them out, I got a very pleasant surprise. An absolutely gorgeous Hispanic gentleman came up and gave me 2 Finding Nemo toys to give to the kid. If my folks hadn’t been along with, I would have tried to strike a conversation with him. As it was though, I just thanked him profusely and made the kid thank him too.

It was about this time that we decided it was time to head home because it was getting to be about 7 pm. On the way back to the front of the park we encountered the trolley coming through with a load of zombies aboard. The trolley stopped and right there the zombies performed a few songs. Nick did not like that they were so darn close. We left when one of the guys got up and started singing Bad To The Bone. Lemmie tell you, he was no George Thorogood. hehe

We ended up heading home a different way than we came up. We went through Rockford and then Galena. It was much more direct than the trip there. I don’t think Dad enjoyed the ride through Rockford much. We saw at least 2 people pulled over by the cops and one real nasty car accident.

I was going to post about the trip when we got home, but it was nearly midnight. Needless to say, I was pooped. We took most of the stuff out of the car and just dropped it all in the living room. Then I crawled into bed and passed out.

All in all, we had a great day. Nick is being quite lovey today. I’m thinking next summer we are going to have to visit when they have the water rides running. I think he will get a kick out of that. :O)

There was some knitting done on my green socks on the way to the park in the morning. But frankly, there was no way I was going to be doing a short row heel in the dark on the way home. I'll post pictures once I get the heel done.

I've been bad

I had been doing so good lately. It's been weeks since I've bought any yarn.

Then someone from LittleKnits had to post to the sock yarn sales group that they were having a sale. lol

I picked up a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Super Glitz Sock in Spring Frost, and one skein each of Regia Surf in Dune (Color #5421) and in Sylt (Color #5418). I got all of that for under $35 with shipping. Color me tickled.

I've finished the turban. Well, the ends need to be weaved in. I'm not doing that until I figure out how the hell to get it on my damn head. roflmao If I can't figure it out, I'll turn the yarn into some footies for my mom.

Turns out that the kid and I will be going to Six Flags alone. When my cousin told her son about going to the park, he freaked. Turns out the last time they went he got scared shitless. He wants nothing to do with it.

While I'm sure Nick would have had a blast with Lars, I'm glad it will just be the two of us. Makes it easier to plan for the yarn stores on the way. hehehe I just want to be able to walk into a store and fondle some good yarn. I can't even bring myself to go into Hobby Lobby any more. Most of the stuff just makes me cringe. sigh

Well, I'm off to bed. I almost fell asleep at work this morning. I better get some zzzzzs.

I shoulda known

My folks were being way too reasonable and making things way too easy. When I decided to suggest that Nick and I go to the amusement park by ourselves, I expected my dad to just flat out refuse to give over the tickets. He offered them up without a fuss. I talked to my mom this afternoon and she didn’t make a fuss either.

After talking to Mom, I took Nick to the playland at McDonald’s for dinner. When I got home, there was a message from Mom that she had a great idea about next weekend.

If you don’t know my folks, it all sounds quite reasonable. I have an older cousin that lives in Chicago and she has a son that is just about the same age as Nick. Mom just happened to talk to her right after our talk today. Turns out cousin would love to meet us at the park. Then afterwards, we could stay the night at her younger brother’s house. He lives right near the park. That would eliminate a late night drive home.

Sounds all nice and reasonable. Unless you know my folks.

God forbid that Becky drives herself and her child 4 hours to a very public amusement park and spends the day with her son. Oh no she can’t drive that far alone without someone waiting to make sure she can make the long trek on her own without crashing the car. And no way can she drive in the dark. Oh God forbid!!

I barely know these cousins. They grew up a couple hours from me and are at least 5 yrs older. I think I’ve seen the male cousin once in the last 10 years. And my mom expects him to just say, “Sure no problem, I’ll open my home up to these virtual strangers!” I see the cousin from Chicago maybe once or twice a year. We have nothing in common other than the fact that our kids like to run around like insane people when they see each other.

My dad has a problem with me driving an hour away to go shopping. If I go anywhere out of the immediate area, he practically freaks. He has always been like that. It isn’t something new with my having a kid. And he can’t say it is a fear of my car breaking down. Hello!!! Until a couple months ago, it was his freakin car. It’s got new tires on it and a new alternator along with a new battery.

I have not had a car accident in 13 years. (knock on wood) Granted it was a horrible accident. But I’m no longer 21 and feeling bullet proof. Hell, I haven’t even put the car in the ditch because of snow in like 8 or 9 years.

Ggaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

I just feel like banging my head on a brick wall. My folks wonder why I damn near picked up and moved to Florida without telling them about it.

Sigh

The whining is over. For now. I guess. But I reserve the right to have another fit at any moment. *wanders off pouting*

The best laid plans...

Ok, so they weren't actually plans per se.

About 2 months ago, my dad won tickets to Six Flags Great America. We had planned as a family to go this weekend.

Well, Dad lost his job. So my folks are a lil strapped for cash.

Last night Mom told me that she came down with pneumonia. So she is in no shape to be going anywhere.

I had kind of forgot all about the trip until this morning. I got all excited about taking Nick on our first trip together.

So I get home today and give Dad a call. Surprisingly he agreed right away to give me the tickets so that Nick and I could go alone. (If you knew my dad, you would be shocked by that)

Happy lil me goes onto the web site for the park and finds the calendar showing when the park is open.

It is closed this weekend. wwhhhhhhaaaaaaaa

So now I have to cross my fingers that I don't have to work next weekend. And Nick is being a bit whiney cause a week for him is an eternity.

So the big plans for this weekend is to go to freakin McDonald's. They have a play area at the one near where I work. Cross your fingers that the lil turd doesn't get stuck and the top and start screaming like the last time I took him. lol

The Last Knit

hehehehehehehehehe

This is just way too damn funny.

Dark place...

Ok, I admit it. I'm feeling a bit depressed. (read that as pretty depressed.. I tend not to admit my depression until I'm deep in a pit)

Nothing really horrible is going on.

I'm a tad bit nervous about my job since dad got fired. I'm hoping that the company is above holding me responsible for my dad.

I did leave after an hour this morning though. I was just feeling so damn sick I wanted to cry.

The damn IBS is being a bitch.

Every morning I feel like I'm gonna puke, so I don't eat. That makes me feel wonky. And I get the trots so bad, I can't go to far from the bathroom.

I've been off my meds for about 2 months now. I'm tempted to call up my doctor's office and ask if I can get some samples. Of anything. sigh

Part of me is happy to finally not be taking any meds other than over the counter allergy meds. Part of me whines that I need my pretty little pills.

So basically, I'm feeling icky physically and mentally.

Hell I prolly just need to get laid. heh

Here is a pic of the first sock.



Yeah the picture sucks. My camera is a piece of shit. Buy me a new one and I'll take better pics. :OP

Now it is time for me to get to bed. I'm beat.

frustration

My life is a study in frustration.

Dad hounds me to apply for the job he says I should have. I apply and get the job. Other than how damn dirty I get, I kinda like the job. I've been there for over 2 months. Now he is hounding me to apply for a different job. This is at a place that I worked off and on as a temp. The pay is a bit better, but they regularly make their workers come in to work at 4:30 in the freaking AM!

Also, it is a boring ass job where there is no radio to listen to. Ok so the music they play where I work now sucks donkey dick, but at least there is music playing. The music ranges from The Supremes and other shitty 50s and 60s music to a few more modern easy listening make me puke elevator music types. At least I get to hear Michael Buble sing Home at least once a day. sigh

To add to the angst at my job, I just found out that the only halfway interesting guy at work is married. whhaaaaa He is a bit of a dork, but he is a total sweetheart. It isn't often that you find a true gentleman in this day and age. sigh I guess it just reaffirms my rule of not messing with people I work with.

In other news, I finally cast on for the second sock. I've got the toe finished and am up to the patterning on the instep. I actually got to this point twice today. The little nubs at the corners of the toe were makin me nuts, so I ripped out the sock once. I just couldn't figure out how to get the slipknot to hide itself. The new sock looks much better. I had the sock cast on yesterday but I was feeling so icky that I didn't want to mess with figuring out the increases. It's a good thing I didn't get past the first couple rows, cause I cast on the wrong number of stitches. lmao

I'll try and get pictures of the socks tomorrow. The cuff on the first one is about 3 inches long I think. I was starting to run out of yarn, so I figured I better get the mate cast on and caught up so that they would be the same length. hehe

I got some Peruvian Collection Sierra Aran from elann.com off of a friend. There are 11 skeins of color 783 and one of color 782. I had hoped to get more from elann so that I could make a sweater for myself. But alas, they don't have any in either of those colors. So, it would look like Mr. Nick will be getting a sweater out of it. Unless of course I decide to felt something with it. lol

For the time being though, the yarn will get hidden in the stash. I have too many projects going right now to start yet another one. Although I did cast on something yesterday. Like I mentioned, I was feeling icky. I had one of my really nasty headaches that was making me want to puke. I can't just sit and watch tv though. I have to be knitting or reading or something. So anyway, I had a skein of the light blue alpaca in my bag and some dpns. I cast on for a circular shawl. I guess I'll just make it up as I go along. Who knows, I may end up just cutting the damn thing off of the skein and throwing it away. hehe

Ok, I'm off to do some laundry and hit the sack. I long for a time when I'm not tired. sigh

This blogger sucks

Yeah, I'm a crappy blogger. I'm a very tired blogger.

I've had a cold for a week now. It just won't go away. The IBS is acting up again too. No appetite in the morning and intestinal issues.

I've been steadily working on the turban and my fake cable socks. I don't have any pictures for y'all cause my camera just sucks rocks. I really need to get some overtime in so I can buy a new camera.

Nick is having good and bad days. One day he is happy and very obedient. The next he runs away from me screaming that he hates me. We are taking it one day at a time.

I should be in bed. Why can't there be more hours in the day??

Let the snotfest begin

I've tried to deny it. I ignored it as long as I could.

My body had declared war on me and it is kicking my ass.

I have a nasty slimy drippy head cold. blech

This morning I had to blow my nose and spray shit in my nose for a full hour in order to be able to breath well enough to go to work. I took two different kinds of antihistamines and used some nasty feeling nose spray.

I did pretty well for most of the day. Then at about 1, my nose exploded again. I sneeze and it looks like some horrible alien has flown out my face. And to make things worse, if I sneeze too hard, I have to run to the bathroom cause I start to pee my damn pants!!!

There are good things happening in the land of Frod though. I got a new used rocking recliner for the living room. It is almost the exact shade of rose as the old recliner, complete with the brown fleck in it. The old recliner had a huge spot on the seat where Nick decided to glue a bunch of paper to it. My folks picked up the new chair at a garage sale for $25. Not too shabby.

On the knitting front, I've almost got the heel turned on the first mini cable socks. I'm doing a simple short row heel over half the stitches. I tried to locate the short row heel instructions I saved from Wendy's blog. I'm pretty sure that I printed it as a pdf and at the moment I can't open the damn things. No worries, I just have to restart my pc and they will open again.

This thing is a pos. There is a fan on my motherboard that is trying to die. I'm afraid that one of these days when I turn it off, it won't start up again. So I leave the dang thing on 24/7. I just do a warm reboot once in awhile when I can't clear enough memory to run my programs. If it were a larger fan, there would be no problem in just replacing it, but it is a very small one and so far I haven't found one to replace it. Ok, so I haven't really looked anywhere but at TigerDirect. I've had good luck in buying stuff from them, so that is the first place I head.

Anyways, I'm gonna go take a super hot shower and go to bed. Maybe after a bit of a snooze I'll be alive enough to do some knitting.

ugghhh

Things are not good in the land of Frod.

Nick is having issues. I'm not really sure why he has been acting up. He does fine during classes at school. But when it comes to the after school daycare, he has been being a total brat. He has told the sitters that he hates them. When I come to get him, he climbs under the table and hangs onto the bars and screams that he doesn't want to go with me. I end up having to carry him outside and drag him to the car. I think some of it may be that he is only able to see his grandfather one day a week.

That is all about to change. I just got done talking to my mom. It would seem that my dad got fired today. They just called him up and said, "see ya." This is not good. Ya see, I work at the same company but as a temp. I worked at another company as a temp through an agency where my dad had gotten fired. Once the woman who had my dad fired found out I was his daughter, I got let go. Needless to say, I'm a bit nervous.

Anyways, things have to change around here. I've got to leave the majority of the Yahoo groups that I belong to. I belong to way too many of them to begin with. I need to spend more time with the kid. And now that my dad isn't working 2nd shift, we will be spending more time over at the folk's house. I'm thinking that I might try to teach the kid how to knit. I've got loads of large needles and cheap yarn. Maybe if he has something constructive to do, he might calm down.

OK, off to spend some reading time with Nick. ta ta

Warning: Drunk blogging ahead

Yep, I'm drunk.

It's a Monday night and I have to work tomorrow. But I'm sitting here drinking. Yuppers, getting even more drunk.

Nothing on tv but Sept 11 stuff. Everywhere I turn there are reminders.

I was watching live news coverage when the second plane hit. I had lost my job a couple weeks before and I have no earthly clue why I decided to get up early and watch tv. God damn I wish I had slept in.

I might have dealt better had I not watched it all play out on live tv.

Yeah, so I'm in Iowa. What of it? I didn't know anyone that died that day. I had no personal connection. But I still get unbearably upset when I think about it all. My folks couldn't understand why I wanted to grab my son and head to their house that day. Call me a wuss who wanted her mommy. heh

On a completely different note but one related by death, my heart goes out to Anna Nicole Smith. She lost her 20 yr old son just days after giving birth to a baby girl. He was in her hospital room when she woke up and found him sitting in a chair dead. How fucked up is that??? No clue as of yet why he died. Doesn't really matter in the long run. She has to be devastated.

Ok, enough. I'm not gonna be able to breath if I don't calm myself down and blow my damn nose. Yep, slimy runny nose to go along with my running eyes.

Man I make a lousy drunk. :OP

Hmmm

Not really what I expected.

You Are From Mercury

You are talkative, clever, and knowledgeable - and it shows. You probably never leave home without your cell phone! You're witty, expressive, and aware of everything going on around you. You love learning, playing, and taking in all of what life has to offer. Be careful not to talk your friends' ears off, and temper your need to know everything.

What Planet Are You From?

I always knew I wasn't from this planet. But I wasn't expecting Mercury. Hmmmm, I wonder what planet the kid is from. I swear, if I hadn't seen him pop out, I woulda sworn he was from Uranus. bwaaahaaahaaaahaaaaahaaa

Finally

Two and a half long months ago I ordered The Harmony Guides Volume 5 from Amazon. It finally arrived the other day. They kept delaying the shipment and it was driving me crazy. Just when I was going to cancel the order out of sheer frustration, they decide to ship. hehe

It was worth the wait though. There are so many beautiful stitches in there. I so love the stitch recipes they give. I'm not sure I could really visualize putting the different cables together. I can't wait to have the time to play around with some cables now. I've got lots of projects to finish up first though.

I'm almost done with the first ball of Esprit on the turban. I suppose I would be farther along if I worked on it more than just during breaks at work. he he It's nice to have some mindless knitting to work on while I eat lunch though.

Time to go take a short nap. My allergies kept me up half the night and then I had to get up at 5 am and go to work. At least I didn't leave work looking like I had been working in a coal mine, like I usually do. :OP

Sick of me yet?

I've calmed down now. The kid is feeling better and he is feeding his face.

Here is the baby blanket I started for my sister.


The pattern can be found here. It's real simple and I'm using 10.5US, so it is going fast. I'm using up a bunch of old ack that I had stashed. Yellow Red Heart, Baby Brights Ombre Simply Soft, Off White Dazzleaire and some Pink that has no wrapper. I'll keep making the blanket until I run out of pink I think. Cross your fingers that it will be long enough.

I'm also working on my Cherry Tree Hill socks.



I like this yarn, but there are flaws in it. I'm not sure if it is because it is mill ends or if it is in all Cherry Tree Hill yarn. There are just spots where there is no twist in the yarn and the skein of yarn was actually in 3 parts. One ball ended up being a lil bigger than the other two. I'm going to work the socks from the two small balls and then finish them off using both ends of the larger ball.

I searched for a cable sock pattern that was toe up, but just couldn't find anything I really liked. After some digging in my saved patterns, I found an old word document with a stitch pattern and a sock picture in it.

I have zero clue on where this pattern is from. It comes from the days before I saved the web address for where patterns came from. If it's your original and want me to remove it, lemmie know.

Multiple of 5 stitches

row 1: *p1, k1tbl, p1, k2, repeat from *
row 2: *p1, k1tbl, p1, k1, yo, k1, repeat from *
row 3: *p1, k1tbl, p1, k3, repeat from *
row 4: *p1, k1tbl, p1, k3 then pass the first stitch over the other two, repeat from *

I'm working the sock over 70 stitches on size 2US addis cause I have huge feet and I don't like tight socks. hehe Right now the pattern is only on the instep and the sole is plain sts. I'm thinking of using a 1x1 rib on the sole of my next pair of socks to see if that doesn't provide some cushioning. I have no clue how long these socks will be. It all depends on how far the yarn goes. I would like them to be knee socks. We shall see what fate brings me.

Oh well, time to get my butt in gear and get some knitting done. Laters...

I'm so pissed

I'm practically seeing red right now.

The kid has ransacked both of his nebulizer set ups. One is completely gone. I have no clue where it went to. The other one is missing the green cone that kinda makes the whole fucking thing work.

So basically, he has no nebulizer at the moment.

His puffer? Both of those are at my freakin mom's house!!!!!!

So now I have to get dressed, get him dressed and listen to my mother bitch at me for not taking care of his nebulizer shit. Forget the fact that I had the damn things put up in the bathroom. gggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

edit: I ransacked the bathroom again and found the old holder for the nebulizer. It doesn't need the green cone like the other one. So the kid is sitting and nebulizing as I type. I still have no freaking clue where the masks are at. He is using the tube which isn't as effective. He is still going to bed early. grumble grumble

sigh

G'day Steve

confuzzled

It's been a tired time here in Froddoland. I've been on cleanup duty at work mostly and it is kickin my butt. I need to get a pedometer and figure out how far I walk each day. It has to be 4 or 5 miles easy. *sigh*

I picked up a new copy of The Fellowship of the Ring. I had totally worn out my old vhs copy. I'm too cheap to get the series on dvd. I was able to pick the vhs tape up for under $4. Watching it again has reminded me about my conundrum with Frodo. I've been using the names Frod and Froddo since well before the live action movies came out. Frodo had always fascinated me. But with the Peter Jackson movies, I came to realy dislike Frodo. He just seems to be a whiney little bastard that always needs saving. The real hero of the movies is Sam. He is always covering Frodo's ass. But still I use the name Frod. I just can't see myself as a Sam. hehe

That whole argument seems so stupid though.

Today Steve Irwin died. It bugs me that the death of a celebrity can upset me so. I really have enjoyed his various animal shows. His upbeat outlook on life was very appealing. My heart goes out to his wife and kids. I do think it was a blessing that he went out doing what he loved to do. I just thank god that it wasn't a croc that bit his head off or anything. lol

I'll have some actual knitting updates later. I've started a pair of socks with some Cherry Tree Hill mill ends I got off eBay. I have some issues with this yarn.

I need some rest though. Allergies are kicking my poor ass yet again. sniffle

I'm in Love!!!

OMG He is just too cute!!!!

I swear he looks just like Mater. hehehe

"Get er done, son!" hehehe

She lives

and knits.



I'm done with the diamond patterning and on to the plain stockinette. I'm at about 10" and I need a total of about 28". Lord only knows how long I'll actually make the sweater. I like mine to cover the tush.

I'm still plugging away on my turban. No update picture cause well it is just 4 x 4 ribbing. But man there is a lot of yarn in a ball of Esprit. I swear I keep expecting to find the center and it keeps on coming. I guess it is the tootsie pop of yarn. hehe

Now it's time to drag my tired ass to bed. Toodles!

I lost my son yesterday

I didn't panic. I'm used to him lollygagging when we are out shopping. I usually have to stop, back up and tell him to get his rear in gear.

He wasn't so easy to find this time.

We had been in the office supply department at Wal-Mart picking up the last of the dumbass shit that he has to have for school. Why a 7 yr old needs a set of dry erase markers and an eraser, is beyond me.

I gave in and bought the whole freakin set up and told Nick to get a move on and proceeded to head back to the craft department. I usually go through the fabric remnants and the beads to see if anything catches my eye.

When I got to the fabric, he was no where to be found. I rolled my eyes and headed back towards where we had been. I thought maybe he stopped to look at the movies because y'all the kid is addicted to movies. He has more than I do. hehe

Nope, no Nick in the electronics area. So I head back to the office supplies, but I went one isle too far over. Still no Nick. And I can't hear him freaking out. This kid starts whining and calling for me if I go around a corner and he doesn't see where I went.

Just as I was about to get worried, they did a page over the intercom that they had a lost mom and would Becky please come to the service counter.

Poor kid was all puffy and red from having a fit. I had to rub it in though. I had to ask him if now he understood why I made him learn my name. Now maybe I'll get him to learn our phone number and address. He used to be able to rattle off our phone number but now always says he doesn't know. sigh

Finally a peek at the sweater.


This is the Peacock Lace sweater from I would be a heck of a lot farther along with it, if I wasn't so damn tired. Man working sucks. hehehe

I picked up a new book at Borders I paid a bit more than this for my copy. But then again, I had it in my hot little hands right away.

The reason I was so wanting this book you ask?




Can we say yummy????



I have 2 skeins of this yumminess. It is Silk/Angora Lace Yarn from Japan. Manufacturer: Hasegawa Corporathion. In color #11 Comet Blue. It is 30% Silk 10% Angora 20% Nylon 33% Wool; 660 yrd per 100 gr hank.

I'm currently bidding on another skein so I can make this.

Why yes, I am nuts. hehehe

It won't get made any time soon though. I've got too many works in progress and other planned projects. But man it will be nice to know I've got the yarn waiting for me to play with.

Ok, enough yabbering. I really need to go get the dishes done and make some dinner for the kid. Yeah I know I should do that in the opposite order, but I already have enough dishes to fill the dishwasher. hehehe

toodles

Who's the cat????

hehehehehe

Insert Snappy Title

My brain is just too damn fried to think of anything interesting to say.

Before I started this blog, I battled with terrible fatigue that drove me batty. Well it would seem that it is kicking my ass again. I've just been sooooo tired it isn't funny.

I have been knitting. I'm working away on the Peacock Lace sweater from Great Big Knits. Even though I'm having to use US 2s to get gauge, it is going pretty fast. I'm on something like row 24 or there abouts. Too tired to get off my ass and get my bag from across the room to see for sure. hehe There are 155 stitches per row, so I don't think I'm doing too bad.

I'm really liking how the wool is feeling. I can't imagine this sweater in cotton like the pattern calls for. Especially at this gauge. It would prolly be real stiff. I can't get over just how stretchy this yarn is though. I keep breaking out in giggles.

I am not liking how the pattern is set out in the book. I copied the pattern and printed a working copy cause frankly the book was feeling ungainly. Well, I just can't read the pattern for shit and keep my place. I've had to type it into notepad and increase the font size so that it is big and bold and in my freakin face. While at mom's I got ahead of my typed up copy and I had to actually write it out long hand. One row of the pattern is mushed up and takes 6 lines of type the way the book is formatted. I think I just got used to using charts and having to work from written out instructions is giving me problems. I'll get over it though.

I'm thinking I should have added a salvage stitch for sewing up later. The pattern puts K2togs right at the edge of the fabric. I'm not reknitting 3700 or so stitches though. hehehe

I'll try and get some pics of the sweater tomorrow. I really am liking it although the pink is awful bright. I just have to remind myself that my favorite sweater for years was a bright smack you in the face blue monstrosity and I wore it with relish. hehe

Blah de Blah Blah Blah

Man oh man did Monday come too soon. Work was just peachy and I didn't have to work overtime. I did stay at Mom's for a bit though. She had corn on the cob on the stove. I had to gobble 2 ears before heading home with the kid.

I spent the afternoon swatching. I've decided to make the Peacock Lace sweater from Great Big Knits. I love love this book and it's predecessor Big Knits. Sure I wish that there were multiple sizes, but at least the one size is big enough that I don't have to alter the pattern.

The pattern calls for Rowan Handknit DK Cotton. Ummmm welllll I don't have any. I do have two cones of Schuss-Plus DK wool. The pattern calls for US size 6 needles. I had to go down to freakin size 2s. I've cast on for the back and I have to use US 1s. Gaaaaahhhhhhhh

But I have gauge. Sort of. hehehe It's close enough when you take in consideration the oversized fit of the sweater. I will be measuring lots as I'm going along to make sure that it doesn't end up being absolutely huge. hehe

BTW: Look down. Like my new divider? I think it's just the cutest. I got it from Tara. I didn't realize it until today, but she has started a blog to share her graphics. She has lots of cute stuff there to snag.

Anyways, I'm off to finish the edging on the sweater and then I'm hittin the sack.

Night Y'all!!

Bra talk

Since Jon took such note of my mentioning of the bra's cost. Let's talk about the bra. hehehehe

The only reasons I mentioned the price were the fact that it was literally half the price of the outfit and that I just bought it that morning.

If the boots had been half the price of the outfit, I would have mentioned it. As it were, the boots were about $10. They are only comfy enough to were for a short while. But man were they heaven compared to the high heels I was going to wear. Those weren't even the first choice. I was going to wear some velvety type high heels only to discover that at some point or another half the fuzzy stuff was scraped off one of the shoes.

I need to invest in some new dress shoes. The only comfy dress shoes I have are boots really. I even have an old pair of granny boots. hehe It just sucks having such huge ass feet. I'll have to see if I can find a shoe store in Chicago that caters to guys.

Well, I'm off to swatch some pink wool. I'm not real sure if it will work for the sweater I'm looking to make. Hell I just want to make any of the sweaters out of Big Knits or Great Big Knits. I just have to find one that works with yarn that I already have. hehe

It's over!!

The brother is married off and the festivities are over.

Joe was trashed when I left and there were still loads of people there dancing and drinking but man I was/am tired.

Only 2 of my uncles showed up. The other 2 and my aunt were no shows. I'm most pissed about the aunt. She hates my dad, her brother, but she is Joe's godmother. Why the hell we have to pay for the fact that she is pissed at my dad is beyond me. But she is not going to be a happy chicky the next time I see her cause I'm going to rip her a new one.

I did manage to get the shrug finished. I didn't wear it though. When I added some ribbing around the body opening, I bound off too tightly. I was just not comfortable in it. It didn't help that the high heels I was wearing were tighter than shit. I ripped no less than 5 pairs of nylons while trying to get ready. I ended up wearing a slightly mismatched pinstripe pants suit. The pants and jacket are the same color but different materials and the stripe is slightly wider on the jacket. But hell my entire outfit, including the $20 bra, cost me about $40. I forget just how much I paid for the individual pieces but I know it wasn't much.

The ceremony was short but sweet. It was in a small room with theater seating. The bride almost tripped when she went up onto the stage. She stepped on the front of her dress. The dress was lovely, btw. It was a light cream and strapless with roses around the top and lacing on the back. Nick behaved himself and sat down next to me and sat quietly during the nuptials.

More people than were expected showed up at the reception. They had to move the cake and put out more place settings. The food was pretty good. Roast beef, fried chicken, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy. Nick managed to eat a plate full of popcorn and a piece of chocolate cake. heh

All in all it was quite lovely. I cried a little when they showed a slideshow of pictures of the bride and groom as kids. I totally lost it when I did the dollar dance with Joe. After a minute, I just gave him a hug and rushed off. I turned into a mass of tears for about 2 minutes and then was fine again. It isn't easy going to a wedding when you are emotionally unstable. hehe But, I don't think I embarrassed the poor boy too much.

Anyway, I need to go tie the kid to his bed. He is still so wound up from dancing. I'll post pictures as soon as I get some and I get permission.

Oh for joy

Mandatory overtime the rest of the week for all the temps. We were told less than an hour before quiting time today. Of course, I'm the only temp that actually stayed over. Yeah, just call me sucker. I already told the bossman that I can't work late Friday or work on Saturday. He seemed ok with that.

Why is it that grown men and women can act like little children when they get together on mailing lists? I don't like what you are saying so I'm leaving!!! Don't tell me that I can't express my opinion. Sheesh!

Work continues on the shrug. I'm working on it during breaks at work. Even one of the guys commented on it and asked what I was knitting.

I cleared most of my block list on Yahoo and low and behold, the guy I split with 3 years ago sent me an offline message on Sunday. Ummmmmm get a freakin life ya jackass!!

Ok time for food and knitting. Christ I need to hire someone to sleep for me. hehehe I'm so freakin tired and I'm sure that most of this post makes zero sense to most people. Oh well.

Snap shot

Proof of the shrugs existence.

More stitch markers.


The finished blue set. The middle bead actually has a lot of gray in it.

The beginnings of a turban made with Esprit yarn from elann.com.

Thank you Emmie for the cool ass web cam. I just have to get an extension USB cord so I can get it onto the desktop. hehehe

And yes, I messed with the pictures in psp, so most of the junk artifacts in the pictures is from me messing around and getting the file size down enough to upload the pictures. Have I whined lately about how much dial-up just FUCKING SUCKS!?!?!?!?!?!?

I just gotta hang on to this job. I'm working more overtime tomorrow. Oh for joy.... Little brother is definitely getting a check for a wedding present thanks to OT and my inability to crochet faster than a damn snail at this point.

Another day

with no knitting pictures. hehe I'm just too damn pooped to hook up the webcam that Emmie sent me and try to get a picture of the shrug.

I do have a picture for ya.



I got some jewelry making pliers and tonight I've been playing. I'm not so good at figuring out how much wire to leave before creating the loop. They are on a size 6 needle. There is another marker that I made first, but it will only fit on a 3. I'm working on another one right now but I can't get that little piece that is left over to fold over or cut off. grrr

Jon asked if I've maybe got tinitus. Why yes I do as luck would have it. I've had it for years. Very very annoying but not much ya can do about it. I always have the tv on for background noise and I sleep with a very loud box fan on so that when the ringing starts it isn't quite as annoying as it is in a quiet space.

The dizzy spells have no relation to the tinitus. This is not a ringing in my ears or that annoying high pitched whine that makes me want to poke my eardrums out. (Not that that would help any. lol) This is a buzzing sort of swoshing sound and feeling right behind my eyes. I don't have to move my head at all in order for it to happen. All I have to do is simply move my dang eyeballs in order for it to happen. It almost feels like someone has put an electrode into my brain and is giving me a shock.

It sort of reminds me of when I was dealing with a neck injury years ago. When I would tilt my head forward I would get an electrical shock feeling at the base of my skull and man was that literally a pain in the neck. The doc said that it was the nerves regenerating themselves. It was almost as annoying as the constant itchy feeling I had on the right side of my neck. I couldn't wear anything with a tight neck on it for over a year. It was like having a bad case of the hives with nothing to show for it and no matter how much I scratched at it, it didn't ease. Major PITA.

hehehe Before hitting publish, I ran spellcheck and I had typed workign instead of working. Blogger suggested I replace it with orgasm. hehe Who the hell wouldn't replace the one with the other??? hehehehehe

Confession Time

As some of my friends know, I've been battling depression for quite some time now. I've been on medication since 2002. Most of the meds I've taken haven't done a whole hell of a lot of good.

I've also been on a lot of medications for other physical problems. I've suffered from nasty headaches for as long as I can remember. The neurologist put me on some meds that help pain meds work better. Ya see, I have a high resistance to pain meds. Most people can take a couple Advil and experience relief quite fast. Not so much where I'm concerned. Which is why I've had scripts for some pretty powerful pain meds for quite some time. They take the edge off but don't completely ease it.

Off and on I've been on anti-seizure meds to counteract spacisity in my right side. I sustained major nerve damage 12 years ago in a bad car accident. When I'm tired or overheated or even over excited, my right arm and leg can start shaking and bouncing. Quite annoying, but it's been under control for some time and I went off those meds.

Anyways, that is a big of the background on my medical problems. Lately though, my situation has been getting worse. At the beginning of the month, I lost my medical coverage. I've had to go off of all my anti-depressants. That has not been easy. Add to that the fact that I'm PMSing. My temper has gotten even shorter than normal and I'm ready to fall apart crying at the drop of a hat. Any time that a strong emotion pops it's head up, I start crying. I bawled while watching America's Got Talent. Ummmm yeah I'm wacked out.

The other thing that is driving me batty are dizzy spells. They started up a couple months ago. I went to the doc and he said it was calcium deposits in my inner ear or some such shit. He sent me to physical therapy to try and deal with it. Unfortunately, I couldn't reproduce one of the attacks for the therapist. He did manage to give me some help with some back problems.

These attacks are very hard to explain. It's not like I feel as though I'm going to faint or even really fall over. Ya know how it feels when your foot falls asleep? Not the pain part, the buzzing feeling. Now imagine that when you turn your eyes or your whole head that you feel a short buzz feeling in the middle of your brain. It's more annoying than painful. But after awhile it does lead to a nasty headache. The buzzing isn't the only annoying part of it. I actually hear a noise when it happens. It's a sort of electrical sound. Like a schzzzuuuuu sound.

The noise and the buzzing lasts for only a fraction of a moment. It may only happen a couple times a day or it can happen several times a minute. It has been getting steadily worse. I can get very disoriented when it is really acting up. This is very frustrating and isn't helping my emotional state at all.

So basically, I'm a mess. I'm stressed out about the whole insurance deal, not working regularly and trying to get the damn shrug knit in time for my bro's wedding. Physically, I'm falling apart now that I'm off of all my meds. I used to take a pharmacy worth of meds each day.

I'm just wrung out and tired as all hell. This is partly why I haven't been posting much lately. I just don't feel like I've got much interesting to say most of the time. If only I had some writing talent. I could share the wacked out surreal dreams I've been having the last few weeks. They are very vivid and very strange.

Anyways, Mom has given me the number and address for a free clinic in town. Unfortunately, as a temp, I can't take time off for anything or risk being let go. I just am going to have to wait and see if I can get the time to run into town from where I'm working. It's at least a 45 min drive cause I work a couple towns away. So, we shall see.

Well, I'm pooped. I'm going to finish reading the news and get my butt to bed. I worked overtime today loading a semi and boy did that kick my ass. lol

Time is short

I can't believe that I only have like 2 weeks before my bro gets married.

Is that making me work faster at the shrug and the doily. Ummmm not really. hehe

It's hard to concentrate on the projects when I'm this freakin tired. The job isn't a hard one but I'm still pooped as all hell when I get home. I worked 2 hours extra today. I'm going to work all the OT that I can cause I can use the money. I'm thinking that the happy couple is going to be getting a check and the doily will be a Christmas present.

Cause y'all I really really really don't want to have to buy a new outfit to wear to the wedding. That is just more money spent of shit that ain't gonna be used again. I'm a jeans and tshirt type of gal and I just don't get dressed up often enough to warrant buying a new outfit. I would rather just give the money to Joe and call it even.

So, I'll be working my ass off on the shrug and getting some money together for the wedding.

And now I'm off to take a shower. Even though I've cleaned up twice since being home, I feel like I only took off the top layer of grime.

toodles

Frustration and Tears

I thought I was doing such a great job on the I Do shrug. I actually did one repeat too much and had to rip back a little bit.

So then I started seaming the two sleeves together. I was amazed that it was hard to see where the seam was. I was doing it from the reverse side because I find knit stitches easier to kirtchner than purl stitches.

About 3/4 of the way across, I realized there was a problem. It would seem that I increased an extra pattern repeat on the first sleeve.

So guess who gets to make a very painful visit to the frog pond after work tonight.

I was sooo tempted to just toss the whole damn thing into the trash last night. The wedding is in 3 weeks. whaaaaaaa

Great

Woke up with heartburn, so I decided to read some blogs.

Thanks to Elizabeth, I learned I'm a damn nerd.



Great, just great.

Yes, I built my pc and I can tear it down and rebuild it in about half an hour if the need arises. Yes, I can build a website with only notepad and a browser for previewing. (Isn't that the way it is supposed to be done? lol) But, no I don't remember how to program in C++. Although if I get out my programming book, I probably could build a simple program in a day or two.

Shit, I'm a nerd. hehehe

Finally good news

I got hired on to a temp job. After 500 hours, they have to hire me on. It's more money than I've been making and once I get hired full time there is insurance.

I've got to go out in a few mins and fill out paperwork and take a pee test.

Should I tell her that all she has to do is make me real mad and I'll pee anyway? hehehe

I start work tomorrow, so cross your fingers that this job works out.

Angry

I can't remember the last time I was as angry as I've been today.

I made Nick a plate of pancakes and came into my room to knit on a turban and watch some TV. I decided that I really needed to get my butt moving on a doily for my brother and his lady for their wedding.

As I walked into the kitchen area to get the pattern pages I had printed off yesterday, I saw what I thought was soda spilled on the floor.

I yelled at the kid to get his butt out there and clean it up.

Then I noticed that it wasn't soda but pancake syrup all over the dining area floor and into the kitchen.

He emptied about 1/4 of a bottle of syrup onto the floor. So I really started letting loose. I asked him what in the blue blazes gave him the idea that it was a good idea to pour syrup on the damn floor. I grabbed a wet towel and told him to get his butt working on cleaning it up.

Then I went to clean my feet off in the bathroom.

There I found the toilet stopped up with tons of toilet paper. The sink had toilet paper in it too.

In the process of unclogging the sink, the bathroom got half flooded.

I was so mad that I literally pissed my pants when I started yelling.

I guess there was a real reason being saying you are pissed when you are really mad. heheee

Never before in my life have I been that damn angry. Ok, so I did have to pee already when I started yelling. But damn, to actually pee your pants from yelling.

Part of the problem may have been the fact that I had a kidney stone that was buggin the hell out of me the last two days. That sort of messes with a persons ability to go and or hold it. Thankfully, the sob seems to have passed.

Wonder if it ended up on the bathroom floor. roflmao

It took me quite awhile to get all the water in the bathroom cleaned up and then all the syrup on the tiles.

I don't think the kid is going to be watching any TV for at least a week.

If it wasn't my mom's birthday today, he wouldn't be leaving his damn bedroom the whole week either.

Well I guess I should get my pissypants self over to my mom's house. She is going out to dinner with her best friend and then out to listen to her brother's band play.

Lazy Friday

I didn't work today. Nobody seems to want me. sniff sniff

giggle

That's ok. I'm one tired ass chicky.

Call me old, but getting up at 2 and 3 in the morning to go to work just kills me.

Right now I'm super tired cause I'm stuffed. I made tuna and noodles for supper tonight. It's been ages since I've made it. I added some cheese to try and entice Nick into eating it. No such luck. The cheese made it so heavy and I feel like I'm going to explode.

My brain hasn't been working too well lately thanks to the lack of sleep.

Someone wrote to me at my MSN e-mail asking about SchussPlus DK wool. Frankly, I thought it was a spam mail or that it was sent to the wrong person. I didn't think my MSN addy was mentioned on here at all. I couldn't even remember having any SchussPlus DK wool.

I checked out my stats and found the page that the person found the SchussPlus on. Turns out it was something I got off of eBay. To answer the person's questions: Yes, the yarn is next to skin soft. Looking at the yarn, it look heavier than dk weight. Then again, I've gotten used to using laceweight and thread lately. hehehe

Someday I'll get around to making a sweater out of the yarn. Maybe I'll swatch for one of the Delta Burke patterns I've got. Lord knows I want to make them all.

Go check out trek casts on. She just posted some cute toddler socks. I so wish I had a little one to make them for.

Also take a look at the new free patterns on The Daily Knitter. Lots of neat goodies on there.

broke again

Sometimes it just sucks to be so freakin poor. I swear I need to find me a real job where I have set hours and a set freakin wage.

Working temp jobs just doesn't cut it any more. Well, I suppose if I hadn't of gotten a flat tire Thursday night I would be ok. That was $124 though could have been spent a little better.

I was less than 2 miles from home Thursday when I got the shit scared out of me. Thankfully, I'm not as bad of a driver as my dad likes to make out. I kept the car on the road and managed to pull onto the shoulder without destroying the rim. This time. I've totally trashed a very expensive rim before.

In a surprise show that there are nice people out there, 3 people stopped to help with the flat tire. The first was a nice lady offering her cell phone. I had already called Dad to come and help with the jack, so I said thanks and sent her on her way. Less than a minute later, 2 guys in a truck stopped and changed the tire for me. They didn't seem to care that I had someone on his way to help me.

Before you call me a whimp, I did manage to get the spare out of the trunk and I loosened the lug nuts. I had just never used the piece of crap jack that came with my car before. It didn't work the way I had expected it to.

I ended up replacing the 2 front tires. The guys that changed the flat said the rear tires should be ok for awhile yet. Dad had wanted me to replace all the tires but I just don't have the money for it.

Frankly, I had to borrow $25 from my mom. If I hadn't, I would have had to pay a $22 overdraft fee. I dunno why they charge you for bouncing a check. Obviously you don't have the money to begin with or you wouldn't have bounced in the first place. Right?? hehe

I can't wait for the kid to go back to school. Paying for a babysitter 5 days a week just freaking sucks. I pay about half my paycheck to the babysitter. And she is cheap for around here too.

Oh well. I need some sleep. Maybe I'll get some knitting done tomorrow.

hehehehe

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

And you thought I was scarce now

Well I'm going to be even more scarce next week.

I'm not as pooped as I was the last couple days from workin my butt off. Next week I'll be working at a warehouse I've temped at before. They want me to come in at 4AM.

Yes, you read that right. 4 freakin AM!!!!!

I'll be dead to the world by 8pm each night I'm sure.

I haven't worked on the I Do shrug much lately. Well I did get the right sleeve and back the right length across. One problem. I added repeats when I went to work it flat because I wanted more coverage. Well once I add the ruffle on, it would have probably gone down to my freakin knees practically.

Sooooooo, I'm going to rip back to where it starts going back and forth. I'm going to rework it without adding any more repeats to the width.

Yes, I'm a glutton for punishment. It should work up faster when I'm not adding on each row though.

Sure.

Faster...

Righttttttttttt

The sun shines again

Well the weekend job doesn't look like it will materialize. The chick in charge of temp jobs in that area tends not to give "guy" jobs to females. I don't care if I get hot or dirty. I just want a freakin job damn it.

The guy in charge of another place I used to work called and offered me one day of work. He couldn't promise any other hours. I told him to give me a call when he can provide more hours. I would really like to go back there. It's an ok place to work.

What was that?

You came for the sunshine?

Oh, yeah, that.

I did get another offer for at least four days of work. I'll be working 8 til 5. The lady that was watching Nick before, has agreed to watch him again. He isn't happy about it. He is insisting on bringing a picture of us together when he was a baby.

I would share, but it sucks. Well he looks cute. But me? Not so much

So, I'll be busy for the next couple of days. I don't think I'll be knitting much. I really don't want to take a bag along with me.

I'm getting closer to finishing the right side of the I Do shrug. A few more inches to go. I suppose if I hadn't of added some more repeats down the back, I would be working on the left side by now. Shit I have no clue if this is even gonna work out anyway. sigh

I started messing with a mitered scrap afghan out of worsted acrylic. I've got like 4 squares done. Then it hit me that it would probably be a good pattern for a baby blanket.

Sooo out came some pastel acrylic yarn. I haven't even gotten one square done. Hell I may end up just adding it to the scrap afghan. It all depends. I should just get out some big ass needles and whip up a couple blankets for the new lil ones in the family.

Nooooooo I'm not havin a kid!!!!!!

I've got one. That is enough for right now. You will hear talk of a wedding way the hell before you will hear about me havin another kid. Shit, I still have to find a man to even think of that stuff. hehehe

Ok, off to bed. At least I don't have to be up at 3am this time though. hehe

The one with the freaky movie

My folks have a membership at Blockbuster that allows them to rent as many movies as they want each month. Sometimes, my mom just doesn't look at what a movie is about before grabbing it.

Last night, we watched Hostel.

OMG that is just the most fucked up movie I've seen in a long time.

Ok so Quentin Tarantino has his name attached to the movie, so I shoulda known it was gonna be FUBAR.

Quentin = blood + boobs + lots of swearing

This movie didn't disappoint on those points.

There were parts that are quite gross. Some parts were kind of funny.

Am I gonna watch this one again? Ummmm I'll stick with From Dusk Til Dawn and it's offspring.

To share the good

As y'all know, a week ago Friday I lost my assignment of 4 months. It really had me thrown for a loop because Nick's birthday was 2 days away and because I had really hoped to be hired there.

I belong to a couple charity knitting groups and I wrote to one of them asking for prayers. I just needed to 'hear' someone say it would be all right. They were wonderful about sending hugs of support. All of y'all were great too.

Well, last Sunday, I was gone all day and wasn't near my computer. Unbeknownst to me, the owner of the knitting group decided to ask the members to take up a collection for Nick's birthday. When I got home and checked my mail, there was a note from the owner confessing what she had done. I, of course, bawled.

Long story short. Monday night, the owner transferred nearly $150 to be spent on Nick. Waterworks ensued again.

I didn't get Nick the bike I had been fixated on. I know the lil booger won't ride it unless it has training wheels on it. I'll be damned if I give in on it though. I think my dad is gonna look for a used bike and do a Calvin on him.

I did get him an assortment of Bionnicles, a transformer, a Rugrats dvd, a Backyardigans book and a 1st grade learning program for the computer. He still hasn't put together all the Bionnicles. The parts are currently laid out in my parent's basement. My dad is helping him put them together cause Nick mixed the parts up. hehehe

We extended the birthday fun to Tuesday and I took Nick to see Cars. That movie is a hoot. We had a total blast.

I did want to smack the shit out of the woman who brought 6 kids with her and sat right in front of me. At one point her youngest kept whining about wanting to go potty. Well she took her once, came back and the kid wouldn't shut up about wanting to go again. Rather than taking her out of the theater, she moved to a seat behind us and kept mumbling to the kid to hush.

I firmly believe that if your child will not hush and behave in a movie, you need to remove the child from the theater until they agree to behave. Yes, you may miss a bit of the movie but that is better than making everyone else listen to your brat screeching.

Anyways, I have a line on a job where my dad works. I would work 6am til 6pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and be paid for a full 40 hours. It would leave the rest of the week free for me to sit on my ass. hehehe Plus, the job would pay $2 an hour more than I was making at my last job.

I was thinking that maybe I would help out at the sub shop during the day for some extra money too. Unfortunately, I know they would insist on having me agree to work one weekend a month. Not even close to happening. They pay minimum wage. Loved workin there but it just ain't worth it.

Oh well, I'm off to finish watching the match between England and Ecuador. Then off to watch the NASCAR race. Who the hell thought I would ever be interested in sports. HA HA HA

The one in which my past bites me in the ass

I have good news and I have shitty news. The bad shit is what is most on my mind at the moment.

I got home last night to find the same number on my caller ID 4 times. I didn't recognize the name or the area code. At first I was just going to go online and figure out where the area code was from when I noticed that there was also a message on my voice mail. First message was a hang up. Second message brought back a name that I haven't heard anyone speak in over 6 years. The voice was one that I hadn't heard in over 7 years. Frankly I didn't recognize the voice, but I knew it was him.

Figured out who it was yet?

I'll save you the wondering seeing as I wasn't blogging back then. It was my son's father. He called no fewer than 8 times last night. This is a man that I haven't heard from since very early 1999 and he is repeatedly calling wondering if I'm that Rebecca but assuming that I was.

To say I was flabbergasted would be to put it mildly. I wasn't scared, just shocked as shit. I called my mom right away. She made me promise that I would call her back if he called again. Well, while I was on the phone with her, he called and left another message.

It took all my self control not to call up Sue and Ally or to just go online so that the phone would be busy when he called again. He finally got me on the phone at about 10:30.

Was I nice and calm? Yeah, not gonna happen. At one point he said that part of the reason he didn't call all these years was because he knew I would be pissed. Ya think? Makes much more sense to give me 7 years to think it over and plan all the things I wanted to say.

Turns out that child services sent him a letter saying that a child neglect file had been opened about Nick. Y'all may remember that on the last day of school the twit next door "forgot" she was supposed to watch Nick. Well about a week or two later a lady from child services came knocking to get the whole story and open a file against the neighbor. So, for some reason, the ex grew a conscience and called wanting to know what was going on. Seems there were no details in the letter. He kept saying it was an abuse report but later admitted that it did say neglect.

Between the ranting and swearing, I did explain what happened and that the neighbor has moved. He kept trying to keep me calm and asking that we not argue and that he was just concerned about "our" son. gggggaaaaaaaaahhhhhh

I could go on and on about how he has no freakin right after all these years to even ask what is going on on a good day. I made it plain to him that I was not even close to ready to be friendly. I am not wanting to kill him or do bodily harm to him. I stopped having those dreams about 4 years ago. hehehe I made it clear that I won't be moving or changing my phone number. He is the reason I have stayed put and not changed my number even though I have had plenty of reasons over the years to want to change my phone number. I just didn't want him to ever be able to say I was hiding from him. He did try to say that he didn't know where I was. Right after he left, I moved in with my folks and a year later I moved into this place. My number has always been in the book under my full name. Obviously I wasn't too hard to find.

Things were left halfway decent by the time I hung up. At the end I just wanted him to say goodbye because Nick was having trouble sleeping and kept coming in my room and talking. The last thing I wanted was for the ex to ask to speak to Nick. Not gonna happen at this point in the game. He claims he is going to try and keep in touch and keep up with the child support. He says it won't be another 7 years before he calls again. I just hope it isn't too soon. I'm not up for the stress right now.

I called Mom up afterwards. We commiserated on how most men are jackasses. She doesn't want him to have any visitation with Nick until at least she is dead and gone. I'm not going to promise that. It has always killed me that Nick doesn't know his father. He has only asked about him once though. I bawled like a baby the whole time I was trying to explain that I didn't know where he was or really why he left. I hope I made it clear that it wasn't his fault.

Anyways, we shall see what the future holds. Maybe he won't call again. Maybe he will make an actual effort to be involved. Who knows? Just cross your fingers that this won't turn into a ball of stress for Nick or for me.

Stunned

I'm sitting here stunned.

After working my ass off for the last 4 months and not a word from my supervisor, I got terminated over the phone by the temp agency. Well the temp agency hasn't fired me, but the job that I've been workin my ass off at for the last 4 months is gone.

I worked 50 freakin hours this week. My supervisor walked by me at least 4 times today and said nothing. I was supposed to be to work at 5am tomorrow to work another 8 hour shift.

When the lady at the temp agency pressed him, he said that I have an attitude problem and don't work hard enough or get along with others well. Yes, when someone antagonizes me, I push back.

At least I do know that the one woman that was driving me and everyone else crazy isn't going back either. She is Columbian and doesn't speak very good English. She won't listen when someone tells her what she needs to do but interrupts repeatedly. I did snap at her this morning because she wouldn't listen to me. She was 'helping' me, but causing me to work twice as hard.

I'm still just completely blown away. Monday is the kid's birthday and I had plans for what I wanted to get him and was planning a trip with him. He is going to miss out on it all now. I'm going to have to put his bike on my credit card and he will only be able to have one other present. He can forget about going to see Cars or going to the circus next weekend. Thankfully, I hadn't yet mentioned going out of town to the zoo or to the aquarium. It would have been our first real trip out of town and staying at a hotel and all.

I guess tomorrow I'll be going through all of my cross stitch and crochet stash and putting lots of it up on eBay. I've got loads of Barbie clothes patterns and afghan patterns that I won't be using. I've also got lots of crochet thread that I won't ever use. I've got too much hand pain to do thread crochet any more. I'll post links when I get the stuff up.

I'm off to have a beer.

drive-by

Working 50+ hours a week isn't good for knitting or sleeping. I'm one pooped chicky.

I've been workin on the I Do shrug again. I had ripped it out and started over again when I got the 16" Addis that I ordered. It is just looking way too wide at the cuff. Yeah, I know it is supposed to be a bell sleeve, but I'm not feelin it. I'm going to rip it yet again and see if it looks better with fewer repeats. If that doesn't solve the problem, I'll try switching to the cotton thread.

I had one hell of a day today. I got saw dust in my eye from a wooden pallet. I tried flushing it, but it didn't work. The medical guy at work had to take me to a clinic to have my eye flushed. The doc said there weren't any scratches. It feels like I spent a really long night in a smokey bar. Because I was taken to the clinic and my employer was footing the bill, I had to take a drug test. All this because I blinked at the wrong time. hehe Lost 2 1/2 hours of work time for it too.

Time to get my tired as to bed. Hopefully I'll stay asleep tonight. yeah right!!

Life gets crazy

The chick next door that used to watch my son after school has moved out. I'm just waiting on her boyfriend to get out of jail and get his crap out too. Please pray that a nice quiet family moves in. I'm just sick of having loud music thumping throughout my apartment late into the night when I'm not the one partying.

Overtime season is gearing up at my job. I pretty much got told that I either start working some of the 5AM overtime or I'll be replaced on my machine. Dudes, it is one of the only sane areas in the building. There has been lots of griping about the overtime and managements inability to get their act together. All I know is that it is making some people very edging. I don't deal well with edgy people when I'm hormonal. There has been lots of bickering that has ended up with me turning into a total emotional mess.

I really haven't been working on the I Do shrug or the green headband. Who knew that working with alpaca/wool when it is hot out and your hands are all sweaty sucked ass so bad. While the pattern repeat for I Do is fairly easy to follow, it just doesn't make good work knitting. I keep forgetting where I am in the repeat. For some reason I haven't been doing much knitting at my folk's house either. Not sure why other than being tired as hell.

I have been working on a headband using the bright funky sock yarn I just used for my wave socks. I'm using a miniature version of the snake scarf pattern. I've got that part done and now I'm picking up stitches around the edges to add some ribbing and then some ties. It's just some mindless knitting that keeps my hands moving. Because it is so thin, I've been working on knitting backwards so I don't have to turn and purl. I think I've finally gotten the hang of that first stitch so it isn't all distorted. I'll get some pictures when it is finished.

Time to hit the sack. I'm pooped.

No photographic evidence

Not one shred of it. I have been knitting though. I finished the socks. I should have made them a little bit longer and a little wider. Maybe they were just tight because my feet swell at night. Who knows.

I've made a good start on the wedding shrug. I'm really liking it even though I think I cast on and ripped out at least 10 times. Purely my fault. I kept switching needles because I don't have a 16" US7. I tried using 2 needles. Then I tried using the magic loop method and my new Denise set. Neither worked worth a damn. One of my needles was pretty flexible and I'm using it for the magic loop method. I really like how the beginning purl section looks. I'll have to get a picture of it. It kind of poofs out. I dunno if I cast on too tight or what, but I like it.

Well, time to get cleaned up and go get the kid. He spent the night at my folk's house. Oh blessed sleep!!

Some days life

punches you in the guts and the moment you double over, you get kicked in the ass.

I've been trying for 2 days to get ahold of the lady I had asked to watch my son this summer. I kept getting a busy signal no matter what time of day it was. I finally got ahold of her when I left work. I needed to ask her to watch Nick tomorrow instead of Monday. Ya see, I have Monday off for the holiday, so I don't need a sitter. And today was the kid's last day of school. I still have to work tomorrow though.

Well turns out baby sitter lady has been thinking and has decided that she will be too busy this summer carting her own kids around to watch mine too. If she had been standing in front of me, I would have slapped her. I mean, come on!!! She knew I had no one else to ask to watch the kid and he is out of school now. But she waits until the last freakin minute to tell me.

So of course, I get on the phone to Mom and whine about this total bull shit. At first she tells me not to yell at her cause it isn't her fault. Then she goes into ubber momma mode and grabs the paper and tells me she will start makin calls and find someone. In a pinch, my mom is the best. I had to take the kid to a doctor's appointment so no time for me to be making calls.

About 10 minutes later, the transportation office at my son's school calls my cell phone. The guy on the other end tells me that no one was there when my son got home, so he has been at the diner across the street for the last hour or so. I'm thinking the bus driver took him over there and left. Once again, I call Mom and freak out. She was just as pissed as I was. I was only about 5 minutes from home and it would have taken 20 mins for anyone from school to get back over to the diner.

I had asked the chick next door to watch Nick cause they got off 2 hours early. Well, the bitch never stuck her nose out the door and he forgot she was gonna watch him. So he was standing there on the porch freaking out. A couple ladies that work at the diner where out having a smoke break and saw him crying. They came over and asked him what was wrong and then took him over to the diner to wait. They left a note on the door, but after an hour, they called Nick's school to let them know where he was. That is when I got the call about the whole mess. I'm still so pissed I wanna smack someone. Anyone.

When I got Nick home, I saw that the 2 lil guys from next door are outside playing with the hose. They are sprayin the cars and they have the lights on on one of the cars. The front door of the neighbor's place is closed and the blinds are drawn. These boys are about 4 yrs old. I was still too pissed to knock on the door and yell at her for not watchin for Nick after school. I went inside for a minute and when I came back out to check the mail, the one kid's clothes are laying in the driveway but the kids are no where to be seen. groan

Just as I was leaving the house to take the kid to see the doctor, Mom called and gave me a number to call. By this time I'm running late and I know if I stop to call the lady, we would be late. So, yet again I'm yappin on the phone while driving. I hate using the phone in the car but well today I couldn't stay off the damn thing. Turns out my mom found just about the nicest gal around and she was willing to discuss watching Nick. We talked for a few mins on the phone and then I met with her after we saw the doctor. She seems really nice and she has real reasonable rates. She gets reimbursed for the kids meals, so she can charge people less. So, long story short, she will be watchin Nick tomorrow. Please cross your fingers that she doesn't end up being another flake that I end up wanting to kill.

I never did make it to Mom's for our normal Thursday visit. It was damn near 7 o'clock when I pulled in to McDonald's to get the kid some fries for behaving. I cheated and got a double cheeseburger and fries too. Basically I spent 3 hours today driving around and yapping on the phone with short stops in between. Is it bed time yet??? Why, yes, yes it is. hehehe Well close enough that I don't feel guilty for wanting to crawl beneath the covers and hide.

Btw, I do believe the wave socks will be done some time tomorrow. GRIN

He's trying to kill me!!!

The child is trying to give me a heart attack.

A few minutes ago someone was pounding on my door. I yelled, "Just a minute." They kept banging, so I yelled again. I get to the door and there is a woman standing there yelling that I need to get the keys to my trunk because she thinks there is a kid in there.

I grabbed my keys, hit the trunk button and ran outside. The kid climbed out of the trunk crying and covered in sweat.

I just about fainted.

He said that a tractor trailer parked in the diner's parking lot scared him. Okkkk and this is a reason to get in a trunk and shut the lid?????

I dunno how or why he opened the trunk, let alone got in it. I swear I locked the car when I got out. I usually do when I don't plan on going anywhere for the night.

Every time he comes near me, I tell him again to never, never, ever get in the trunk of a car. That it could kill him if it is hot enough. It's only about 70 here today but he was sweating bullets.

Why, oh why did I have to have a boy???? I swear I wasn't this annoying/reckless when I was his age. Lord help me the first time he starts a fire. My brother almost burned my grandfather's house when he was about Nick's age. I did on at least one occasion burn paper on the stove, but it didn't start anything on fire. Thank God for multiple smoke alarms.

The kid still lives

The good news is that I didn't have to kill the kid. He didn't cut up any of my yarn.

The bad news is that he unwound a whole freakin skein of yarn on me. It took me over an hour to untangle and rewind it. Thankfully it was Red Heart acrylic and I didn't have to be too gentle with it. Yes I know, not the nicest yarn out there. Definitely not the nicest yarn in my room. hehe I've been working on this sweater vest for a very long time though. I've got the fronts done and need to cast on the neck stitches and work down the back.

Oh well, time to get dressed. I'm taking the kid to see Over the Hedge. I need a good giggle. I wonder if it will be light enough in the theater to work on my socks? hehehe

Motivated to organize

My son has provided the motivation. This afternoon while I snoozed, he was watching a movie in my room and, I thought, laying on the floor. Turns out he was being a big ole pain in the ass instead. I had a few projects in plastic bags under my bed. They are no longer under there. They are now in a pile of blankets and yarn at the end of my bed. When I woke up, he had scissors in his hand. I have been too ticked and afraid to look and see what, if anything, he may have cut. So, if you are in eastern Iowa and hear a child screaming loudly for his mother to stop swatting him with a wooden knitting needle, you will know he cut up some of my good yarn. j/k His tv will be taken away for at least a month if he cut anything up. sigh

Dissapointing

In regards to yesterdays post. It was my birthday. None of my friends managed to remember. I'm not talkin about any of the bloggers I sometimes chat with. None of y'all really knew about it. My best friends did know bout it though. One of em's birthday was a couple weeks ago and she knows mine is soon after hers. Oh well.

Mom made her special pizza for dinner. She even managed to get the kid to eat almost a whole piece that only had cheese on it. Threatening to not let him have any birthday cake is very effective. hehehehe Mom got me a t-shirt and a couple pairs of capris. I swear they are all I wear anymore. I'm gonna have to lose about 5 pounds for the one pair to fit right though. I can get em zipped up but man are they tight. I gotta get working on losing some more weight cause my bro's wedding is on August 5th. He actually remembered my birthday and called my folk's house to wish me a good one. He forgot to mail my card though. hehe

I just started on the I Do shrug from Knitty.com. Unbelievably, I was able to get gauge with the correct size needles and the fingering weight alpaca. I really need to get a pair of 16 inch circs to work with though. Trying to work the sleeve on two 29" ones really sucks. I haven't mastered the whole socks on 2 circs either. I just don't think that the magic loop method would work too well with the lace and the stiff ass cables on these Bates pieces of crap. I need me some pliable Addis. Man I love those things.

I've been using US2 Addis to knit my wave socks with. I'm working on the legs now. I had to mangle the stitch pattern though. When I tried the socks on, it was real hard to get them over my huge ass feet. I added 3 stitches and they are much easier to pull on now. I had to change 3 of the repeats on the back of the leg to K2, YO, K2, K2tog, SSK, K2, YO. The other repeats start out with only one knit stitch. It doesn't look too shabby. Once I get a few more rows done, I'll see if I can get a decent picture.

Oh well, I'm gonna go drool on eBay. I'm thinking about putting up a list of my favorite eBay sellers. I'm pretty loyal to a few of them. Lord knows I've got enough of their yarn piled up in my room. Landlord says my room is a fire hazard. hehehe Bitch!!!

34?????

WWWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

no comment

bahhhhhhh

Man I'm glad that Monday is almost done with. Ok the day wasn't totally sucky but sucky enough. grumble

Went out of town Saturday with my folks and the kid. We attended my aunt's surprise 60th birthday party. It wasn't all that bad. I got to see some cousins that I hadn't seen in years. They live all over the damn place. One cousin lives in California. He makes slasher movies. One just got picked up by Blockbuster. The others live in different parts of Iowa and in and around Chicago. The kid had loads of fun playing with the oldest's kid. No one was hurt and nothing was broken. Well they did destroy quite a few balloons, but that was it. heh The sucky part came in when my mom's camera decided to die. It looks like the shutter won't come away from the lens. So being the good daughter that I am, I gave her back the camera I was buying off her. Now I'm left with the pos again. Pictures will be limited until I buy a new one.

Mother's Day wasn't too bad. The kid gave me a pillow case that he decorated at school. It's real cute but I won't be using it. I don't want to ruin it or anything. I didn't give Mom anything, save for a card. I figured that giving her the camera back was sacrifice enough. hehe My brother was home and it was nice seeing him even though I did see him the night before at the birthday party. hehe

Today at work I learned that I would be loosing my favorite plaything. It seems that I annoyed the hell out of him so bad that he asked to be moved to a different machine. Bwwwwaaahaaahaaahaaaa He was just so damn easy to mess with. I never did anything too mean to him. I just pestered him some. I'll have to make sure to say hi to him every chance I get, just so he doesn't forget just how much he loves me. hehehe

In knitting news, I finished one heel and am working up the leg and I'm almost done with the second heel. I got some quality knitting in on the drive on Saturday. I started out driving but Dad just couldn't take it sitting in the backseat. He kept pestering the kid and at one point, Nick looked at Dad and said, "You little asshole!" HAHAHA We all told him that wasn't nice once we could keep a straight face and not giggle like little girls. What I really wanted to tell the kid was to keep it up, the old man needs to hear the truth. hehe Needless to say, after that Dad drove and I sat in back with the kid.

Well, I'm gonna get my aged ass to bed. I'm feeling so damn old it isn't funny. grumble grumble Shut up Allyson. :OP

Sockin along

Well, I finished working a new heel using double wrapped short rows.



I am loving how it looks. There are no holes at all.

There is one problem.



The darn sock is too damn short. It fits, but it is very tight. The heel I worked before had another two rows in the middle of the heel that added just the right additional length. So, as much as I like how the heel turned out, I'm gonna rip it tomorrow. hehe I'm going to work another 2 repeats on the foot before working the heel.

Hell if I had just worked the very first heel I did on the first sock, it would have been done by now. It would have only fit my mom's tiny little feet, but it would be done. snicker

Lots of new fibery stuff here to tell you about. New books, new patterns and new yarn. Alas, I'm about to fall over asleep here. I've got loads of housework to do tomorrow after work, but I swear I'm gonna try and get some pictures taken of my loot.

Men stink

Yeah Yeah
Men stink!!

God I loved the 80s. lol I was having a good day at work until a guy that makes me want to rip my eyes out showed up at the table. Every time I let him know he was about to make a mistake, he laughed and shook his head at me. He was acting as if I couldn't possibly know a damn thing because I'm female. I've been with the company longer than him. But he has that special tripod that makes him all knowing. I didn't out and out yell at him. I was talking loudly but that is because we wear earplugs and it is hard to hear anyone talking. I didn't swear at him either. Ohhhh I wanted to. Man did I want to.

The kid decided to try my patience too. He got pissed off that my dad wouldn't give him a treat when it was time to leave. He doesn't get that treats are for when he behaves. Not for when he throws his new toys around. So, I got to listen to 15 minutes of him yelling and screaming at the top of his lungs the he wanted a treat. A few times I damn near started laughing cause it sounded like he was chanting. I chose to ignore him and not respond at all. When we got home he decided it was a good idea to hit me on the back and demand a treat. He got a bath and was sent to bed. I didn't yell. I didn't spank. I'm quite proud of myself actually. hehe

My damn socks are trying my patience too. I thought I was doing such a good job at the short row heels. The holes in the first sock aren't so bad on the knit side. On the purl pick up side, not so good. On the second sock. They look like shit. I so do not want to google this shit. I think I'm just going to rip the heels and double wrap them. I'm not going to bother trying to twist the wraps when I pick them up either. I think that made the holes worse even though the pattern I used for the heel said to twist the wraps on the purl pick up wraps. I'm too freakin tired to work on them more tonight. I do like the way the double wrapped stitches looked on the short row toes though, so I'm hoping it will solve the problem on the heels. Wish me luck.

Time for a drink and sleep.

What a freakin day

I so can not wait for the maintenance guys to put up a fan for where I work. We were all sweating our asses off yet again. It's pretty bad when the gal standing next to me says, "Man you sweat alot." I have to remember to wear the super thin cheapo t-shirts to work. I might as well be wearing a sweater when I wear the heavy ones.

As if sweating all day wasn't bad enough, I got a voice mail at 2pm from my son's school nurse. I was afraid I would get in trouble if I called her back while I was supposed to be working, so for an hour I was freaking out. As soon as I punched out, I called her. Turns out the kid had a bad asthma attack and he threw up when she gave him his inhaler. Within minutes of her getting ahold of my mom he was feeling fine. Mom took him to her house though. I'm definitely going to try and find him a doctor that specialized in asthma and/or allergies. The poor kid is just miserable this time of year.

I finally found a shrug to make for my brother's wedding. I'm going to modify I Do from Knitty. Yeah I know it is unbelievable that I could possibly fit my fat ass in that one. I'm sure that I'll be able to increase the width a bit and add a nice big collar using the same lace pattern. I'll either use the light blue alpaca I was going to make a shawl with or some light green cotton thread I've got. It all depends on which one I can get gauge with.

I'm still trucking along on the wave socks. I'm just having a hell of a time figuring out when to start the short row heel. It is a never ending circle of work half the heel, try on, rip out, work 4 more rows, work half the heel, try it on, rip it out. hehehe I'm gettin close though.

Ok, time to go make sure the kid didn't pass out in the backyard. Who wants to come do my dishes for me?? I hate housework. sigh

Grrrrr

Blogger doesn't like me.

The Flying Geese Headband pattern can be seen on my craft site. I have no clue why there is a huge ass space before it in the last post. sigh

Flying Geese Headband

Flying Geese Headband
Finished size:	The ribbing measures 2 1/4 inches across before seaming.
	The lace section measures 3 1/4 inches across.
	Finished length is approximately 25 inches around.
Materials:	Fingering weight AlpacaWare 50% alpaca, 50% merino wool
	Size US1 needles
Gauge:	14 stitches = 2" in lace pattern
	18 stitches = 2" in ribbing
Cast on 23 stitches using your favorite method. If you do not wish to sew the ends together, use a provisional cast on.
Ribbed section:
row 1.	SL1, *K1, P1, repeat from * across ending with a P.
row 2.	SL1, *P1, K1, repeat from * across ending with a K. Repeat these two rows until your work measures approximately 5 inches or 1/5th of your desired finished length. ( I have a big head. heh)
Lace section:	Follow either the chart or these written instructions.
Row 1.	SL1, K1, YO, SSK, K2, YO, K1, SSK, K5, K2TG, K1, YO, K2, K2TG, YO, K1, P1
Row 2.	SL1, P21, K1
Row 3.	SL1, K2, K2TG, YO, K2, YO, K1, SSK, K3, K2TG, K1, YO, K2, YO, SSK, K2, P1
Row 4.	SL1, P21, K1
Row 5.	SL1, K1, YO, SSK, K4, YO, K1, SSK, K1, K2TG, K1, YO, K4, K2TG, YO, K1, P1
Row 6.	SL1, P21, K1
Row 7.	SL1, K2, K2TG, YO, K4, YO, K1, DD, K1, YO, K4, YO, SSK, K2, P1
Row 8.	SL1, P21, K1
Repeat these 8 rows until your work measures approximately 20 inches or 4/5th of your desired finished length.
Repeat the ribbed section adjusting the length until the headband fits snugly.
If you chose to use a provisional cast on, use either a 3 needle bind off or graft the two ends together. Otherwise, cast off and sew the ends together and weave in the tails.
© 2006 Rebecca Davis

Still Kickin

*yawn*

Yup, I'm still alive. I've just been freakin tired. I've only had one day off in the last 2 weeks. My job is kickin my butt and I've been going to bed early.

I have been knitting though. I'm really close to starting the heels on my wave socks. I'll try to post a picture this weekend. I finished adding a row of diamonds on the MS2 and am close to 1/4 of the way through the edging. It works up real fast.

I'm also working on a headband pattern. I've got the chart and key done. I just have to type up the instructions. I don't actually have the prototype done, but it's about halfway done. I so need new headbands to wear to work. I've got 2 that are almost 15 years old and that is it. hehe I can't wear my panta. It is too think and heavy to wear when I'm sweating my ass off. I'm no good at wearing barrettes. My hair isn't long enough for a ponytail. It hopefully won't be any time soon. I'm thinking of getting a cut soon.

Anyways, I'll try to get some pictures taken and post them this weekend and get the pattern written up. I'm heading to bed now though. lol Man I'm gettin old. Ally will always be older though. :OP Still love ya hun.