the SwetPMnkyGrl Life

Resolutions

2012-01-13T00:13:00.002+10:00

Some of the things that I hope to get done this year:

1. Finish up my degree in fine arts
2. lose about 30 lbs. This should be doable in a year's time right....?.......Right?
3. Be more active and healthy (this includes what I eat and both of these should help me with #2).
4. Blog more. I've been neglectful.
5. take up photography again. I was always good at it, might as well add it back to my list of things that I do well.
6. stay more organized....... I realize this may be a pipe dream
7. Knit a little everyday

That's it. Any more and my head might explode.

School started for me on Tuesday and I'm looking forward to this semester. It may all get cut short if the hubs gets that job in Boone and that would be okay too. A job is key in these times. Things don't look like they're getting any better any time soon and we're running out of resources.
Tuesday I found out that I most likely made it into the Raleigh art show. They pick four pieces from each school to showcase in their gallery. I'll know more next week. I would have known more today, but an infection has me crawling to the doctor. Same skin infection that I had a few weeks ago has come back and it hurts like a motha'! I'm hoping it's just a general staph infection and not MRSA. I'm on this medicine that lowers my immune system and I'm starting to seriously think about coming off of it. Problem is that all the meds that control my disease lower the immune system so it might not be an option, but I don't want to get something that could kill me either. So far it's been limited to my skin which is fairly harmless and hopefully it'll just be another round of antibiotics and I won't hear from this stupid thing again (cause it REALLY hurts).

Rough Times, but there's ALWAYS a light to be seen

2012-01-10T18:44:00.007+10:00

With a new year comes hope that this year may be better than the last. Hubby's job in Mississippi got recended. I didn't even know that they could do something like that. At least they told us before we packed up and moved everything out or we would have been really in a bind. So we finished out the year in the same place. Not so bad except now the unemployment has run out and it doesn't look as if the job market is getting any better. I've been looking, he's been looking and nothing. I've been looking locally for the past 6 months and he's been looking everywhere for the past 3 years. Nada. This is crap. How are people supposed to make it? I have a dream about a plot of land, a cob house, chickens and a garden so that we could be more self sufficient and not so needful of the crappy green paper with dead men on it. It seems so absurd that we put so much value on colored paper, but we do and for most necessities you have to, that's the saddest thing of all. There was a time when people didn't need it at all and they got along on their ability to grow crops, raise animals and trading with their community. I'm hoping that my family can get back to a more basic living, but I need to have everyone onboard cause I can't run a homestead on my own. Regardless we need jobs before we can even begin to think in that direction anyways. I hope everyone that can would start trying their hand at growing their own crops a little at a time. There is satisfaction in doing for yourself.
My health seems to also be on a downswing. My resolution is to drop some weight to help with my arthritis. There's not much that I can do to stop the psoriasis that is slowly taking over my skin again especially when my doctors keep telling me everything is okay. I'm pretty sure the resurgence of my arthritis (more painful than it was before) and my skin breaking out is signaling that my medicine is no longer effective, but I can't get my doctor to see it. Maybe I need to be more forceful. I saw a rheumatologist who told me that I don't have arthritis and possibly that I didn't have psoriasis (until he saw my scalp). The first time I broke out I was told that it was a fungal infection or a reaction to something until it wouldn't go away so this is nothing new to me. Sometimes doctor's take some convincing. The rheumatologist couldn't explain what it was that I have that's causing my joints to hurt, but he was sure it wasn't arthritis. I have to disagree because the pain is the same that I had before I was put on the Humira and once I started taking it I stopped having the joint pain. It's been slowly coming back along with the breakouts and here lately it's becoming difficult to do things with my hands. He said that because I didn't have pitting in my nails and swollen fingers that it couldn't be psoratic arthritis. I have searched all over the internet and I can find no where that says that you have to have the pitting of the nails (which seems to actually be more of a symptom of the psoriasis, but only if you break out on your hands) and my fingers may not have been swollen right then, but that doesn't mean that they never are. There is a list of symptoms that all the sites give and it says that you have to have at least two of them to be considered for psoratic arthritis. I have five. I have another appointment in February and if I get the same from him then I'll get a second opinion. Hopefully we'll just move and I can see a new rheumatologist.
I'm keeping my swollen fingers together (can't cross them cause they hurt) that my hubby will get this job in the mountains. This is the third time he's gone there for an interview and they like him. There are only two other people in the running for it this time so it's looking like the odds are in our favor, but we're not really getting up hope until we find out for sure. We'll know before the end of the month so that's good. In the meantime I'm going back to school for another semester and I'm one more step towards getting my degree. I only have one more semester after this and I'll have it. I'm feeling a great sense of accomplishment as I get closer and closer.
All this school has left little time for knitting, but I tried to make up for it over the break. I finished a pair of socks for my Grandma (an urgent project cause I never know how much time is left in life). I don't have a picture of them, but I'm working on a red pair now for myself (that I'm very happy with and can't wait to have on my feet) for your viewing pleasure.

They're the Dead Simple Lace Socks from Wendy D. Johnson's Socks from the Toe Up
I love this book and I'm hoping to do a pair from each pattern in it. My Grandma's socks were the On Hold Socks and I'm hoping to start another pair in the Lacy Ribs Socks pattern out of some variegated Malabrigo that I have.
One really good thing that happened for me this year was this........

and this.......

Know what those are????? My art pieces in a GALLERY!!!!!!!!!! It was a student show, but I was still excited to have my work shown. My kids were mighty proud too and my daughter kept telling everyone that came in that her momma made those. I think she was more excited to tell people than I was.

I'm Freaking out on the Inside

2011-09-23T04:32:00.003+10:00

Just found out today that my hubby got a job in Mississippi. Okay. We have to be there by October 11th. I need to throw up.

There are pros and cons to this. We'll be further away from family, we have to quickly pack and move with two kids and I'm not going to be able to finish my classes for this semester. Those are the cons. The pros are that my DH will finally have a job after 3 years of searching, medical benefits should we lose our military when he goes for his disability review, we get to see new places AND we'll only be one hour away from New Orleans (a place I've always wanted to go, but have never had the chance). But first there's moving. There's that urge to puke again.

2011-05-22T13:19:00.002+10:00

Summer break! Two weeks of..... nothing. Summer semester is starting on Monday and I'm excited. I'm only taking two classes, English (literature based research) and Painting 1. It'll be a quick semester (only eight weeks) and then the real summer break begins. I'm excited about the painting class. I've have paintings that I've made, but I'm wanting to learn more about color theory and how to blend so that I can have shadows and realism in my paintings (all my other paintings are of the surreal type). I'm excited about the English class too, but you can only get so excited when you know that there are essays and research papers involved. Still haven't gotten into knitting anything. I pick up something every once and awhile, but the urge really isn't there. GASP! I know. I feel hurt by the thought that I may never want to knit again and then reality hits and I laugh hysterically knowing that addictions always come back to bite you in the bum (it's my only addiction and a healthy one at that so I can't complain).
For my next summer break I want a vacation of Phineas and Ferb proportions. Building a rocket, fighting a mummy, or climbing up the Effiel Tower. Discovering something that doesn't exist, or giving a monkey a shower (yep, it had to be done). You know, THAT kind of summer. The kind I used to have as a kid. I'm looking into getting some camping gear and taking the kids out into nature and the look on their face when I tell them that they need to dig a hole before they DOO that (ha ha ha!).
Someone needs to come up with a snoring cure. BEFORE I beat my husband to a pulp in an attempt to get him to stop. Just sayin'

Future's lookin' so Bright!!!!!!

2011-03-21T11:43:00.002+10:00

First sunburn of the season. It hurts so good. It's been too hot to knit and I'm back to school as well so the knitting seems to be going on hiatus. I have to rip back and make the skinny clapotis longer as soon as I finish making a small bag from the same yarn. I needed to make sure that I have enough yarn for the bag, but now I'm thinking I might look for something different to make the little bag out of. I have been more inspired to draw lately and I think that I'm going to try to get in a few art classes stating Fall semester and build up a portfolio that I can have on hand. I'm still toying with the tattoo artist idea. If I can get my foot in the door it would so be worth it, but it's finding someone to train you that becomes the problem. That and I need a little more training in the art department (I think) before I start putting permanent ink on people's skin. I'm trying really hard to find my niche and I'm starting to think that learning to work on cars wouldn't be such a bad idea if my whole "life as an artist" doesn't pan out. I don't know what to do with myself. Time to find some new knitting projects to project the CALM again.

The Earth Moved and the Water Washed Away

2011-03-12T16:06:00.003+10:00

I'm saddened by the events that took place in Japan. An 8.9 earthquake and then a tsunami just a few minutes later while the terror was still pulsing through their veins. What a double finger flick from Mother Nature. As I watch the videos of the earthquake I can feel a rush of fear in my chest as I remember with clarity the seven pointer that I experienced in Guam. It started out gentle rolling and then all of a sudden BOOM! I can only think that it would be like being in a box, set on a nervous giant's knee. It wasn't nearly as devastating (only a lamp fell over), but it lasted for over a minute and every time you thought it was getting ready to taper off and stop it would suddenly start up again and shake even more violently then the last bit. I remember actually saying "Please stop, please stop, please stop" over and over again as it continued because you just didn't know how bad it was going to get the longer it lasted. It's a complete sensory overload because it throws you off balance and the noise is buffering you and it's scary wondering if the next big rattle is going to bring something down on you. There is absolutely nothing you can do, but hold on and pray you're not unlucky. That particular earthquake woke my kids in the dead of night. I could go in their room right now and send a parade through and they wouldn't wake. But as I said before it's more than just one thing with an earthquake. I still get nervous any time it feels like something might be moving even a little even though I live on the East Coast of the US where we don't get earthquakes (I know it's possible because of a fault line that runs close to here, but not common). You do get used to them after a time and the little ones don't even cause a blink in your day, but those that last a good long while ..... you don't forget those. A minute seems like five. I've heard the one in Japan lasted about three minutes. That must have felt like an eternity and that wasn't even the worst of what was to come for some areas. Then to make matters worse, you're keyed up from the initial earthquake and then you have to deal with after shocks. I'll take a hurricane over that any day. At least I have plenty of time to get the heck out of the way in that case and can avoid it all together. I'm praying the death count doesn't climb much higher and that nothing else smacks them around while they're trying to recover from this. I hope every one else out there is praying for Japan as well.

No Time to Say Hello, Goodbye......

2011-03-08T07:01:00.005+10:00

Busy times. Now that Spring Break is upon us I have time to blog a little. And knit a little. No lie. I have hardly been able to knit since school started, but I finished one of my classes (it was a short session) so I'm hoping that I'll have a little more time on my hands. If my Art HIstory class study list is any indication though, that might just be a pipe dream. They seem to be getting longer and LONGER and more detailed with every quiz that we take. I skipped the last quiz because I didn't think there was any way that I could cram that much info into my brain and have it still be functioning. By the end of last week I was convinced that my brain was going to liquify and seep from my ears. I still have work that I need to get done before the break is over, but I'm putting it off and knitting in the hopes that I find the CALM again. I was able to bang out these cute hand warmers while school was in session. Now that I'm on break I've started a few pairs of socks and an afghan. I don't know what I was thinking, but I'm sure that I'll have more cast on before the week is out. The socks are just standard toe up socks that I'm making for my little boy (should be quick knits) and the afghan is the Entrelac Baby Blanket from More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. It's being done up in a super chunky and super soft LionBrand yarn. I've got these bad boys on size 13 needles, which I've never used before this except once and that was to make something that was to be felted. I'm finding that I have trouble knitting big. I keep dropping my yarn and my hands and arms are aching like they never have before. But I am determined to finish this blanket and give it to my daughter, who will be overjoyed that I've knitted her a blanket at last. I've started it out with 5 triangles on the 1st tier so I'm sure that she'll be able to use it the rest of her life. How's that for longevity?!!! This blanket might be a lesson in longevity for us both. I found that it takes a whole skein to make one triangle. I only have 22 more to go. Woo hoo! Now that I'm thinking about it I might rip it out (again) and make it one triangle smaller (4*3 instead of 5*3).
Oh! And I've been working on this bad boy since Christmas. It's a clapotis, made with KnitPicks Imagination on US 3 needles so it's a cute skinny scarf. I've just started the decreases (since I just picked it up again last night after not working on it for almost two months) so I should have it done before my mom comes to visit and I'll actually have something to give her (it was supposed to be this and 12 tiny stockings as well as some tabi socks....... she always wants the tabi socks).

HAPPY NEW YEAR- be safer

2011-01-02T18:51:00.004+10:00

The year ended out on a good note for me. This year saw us all getting one year older (eep) as well as welcoming a few new family members. My SIL had a baby and I got a guinea pig that turned out to be pregnant and produced two more guinea pigs so that I now have three.
My BIL invited his niece over for New Year's. She's 21 and a sweet girl who was ready for drinking. My SIL was also ready since she's been tea totaling since she got pregnant last year. I'm usually the one that stay some semblance of sober (unless I'm DD and then I stay sober). I find this a great way to go because you can laugh at everyone else as well as help to avoid the things that sometimes go wrong when people get to drinking. My BIL's friend, A, came over as well and he's a daily drinker and is in his late 30's. I mention this because later, after BIL's niece had already thrown up once, I found him taking her to his house (which is across the way) and trying to get in her pants. I don't know what the specific law is, or if there is even a hard law against it, but my thinking and morality states that if someone wobbles so badly when they walk that you're afraid their going down any moment that they are in no right mind to make a decision about who they want to sleep with. No one else seemed to be moved to do anything so I asked BIL if he wanted me to go over there and get her (he mentioned he wasn't "comfortable" with the situation, but as I said before I was the only one with some semblance of sobriety). I took my son across the street and knocked on the door saying that my son was wondering if his cousin was coming back over to the house. I didn't even finish my sentence when he interrupted me and said "No, no. You know what you're doing." and then started cussing me. That tells me that if he knew why I was really there then he also was aware of what his role in all of it was as well. He's telling everyone that I cock- blocked him. I stand by my feeling that the situation was wrong and that you can't block something that isn't there.
I've made a resolution to blog more this year. I'm starting by doing a KAL with Let's Knit2gether on ravelry. They're doing socks for this month's knit a long and I've been eyeballing the yarn that DH had me buy him a few months ago with the promise that I would make him socks. I had planned to have them done before our anniversary, so it's been a long time that he's been waiting. I purchased a US size 0 circular needle in preparation to begin his socks. I realize the sheer craziness of that when I remember that he wears a size 13 shoe. I'll be knitting for forever. I'll just stick with the standard size 2 needle that I usually use for socks. My son will be getting socks using the size 0 needle and a beautiful blue self striping yarn that he picked out. I started them last night when I should have been starting DH's instead. Just the thought of all that knitting for the foot alone is making my stomach twist in knots. I'm going to have to find a nice pattern, but then I look at the pink, SPARKLY, variegated yarn that he has chosen and change my mind thinking that any fun pattern will just compete with the colors. What do you think? I need to get cracking soon so I need to make a decision.
Here's to the New Year. I'm starting small compared to other people, but I'm going to make a resolution each month and try to keep it. I'll get more done and maybe it won't be so overwhelming. January starts with socks and 5 lbs. February is pending.

Discouraging

2010-12-13T06:38:00.003+10:00

Yeah. My sweater didn't turn out like I thought. Oh it was perfect in it's construction, but I ran out of yarn. Actually I'm still convinced that I bought enough, but that I've misplaced it. I've combed the entire house, which can only mean one thing. Yes, the gnomes are back. And this time they have stolen yarn. They have crossed a line. It's on.
I haven't been online much lately. Well that's not completely true. I've been trolling around on deviantart and making some artwork of my own. I filled out all my paperwork and will be going back to school in the spring for video game and simulation development. That's what I have down for now, but I may change my major to something more in line with the fine arts or maybe fiber arts. There are no programs for that in the current college I'm enrolled in, but for right now I'm just trying to get my foot in the door. I may come to love my current major and I also have medical transcriptionist as a backup that I'm also trying to finish up online. I need something in the creative field to work on.
Anyways even though I didn't finish the blue sweater I did manage to churn out a cardigan for my daughter that turned out REALLY good. Pictures on that are pending. Of course there's always socks, that I never tire of, hats and a Clapotis currently in the works. Again pictures are pending. Once I get all these bad boys loaded up, I'll have a picturific blog. Yeah. Hm.

Actual Knitting

2010-06-09T05:58:00.010+10:00

I know. I've been bad about posting about my knitting. This is, after all, supposed to be a knitting blog, but in my defense life has been a little much lately. That and my camera's always seem to disappear whenever I want to blog (darn gnomes). I finished a scarf for my aunt Celia (if you're reading this know that I just have to finish weaving in the ends and I'll hand it to you when I come for Morgan's wedding).
It reminds me of Where's Waldo. I really like it.
I've also been hard at work on this sweater. I'm saying that it's for me, but it's not, but fear of the "curse" will always have me saying that it's my sweater ( I'm pretty sure we'll be safe regardless). I will probably wind up wearing it more than he will anyways.
Looking around at a small children's boutique in the neighborhood has me thinking about knitting baby booties and sweaters en masse and selling them there. It would be a nice little thing for a little extra money on the side. I've noticed that I'll knit myself things, but that I don't use them. I think it's because I'm afraid of ruining them. Eventually they'll wear out and I'll be upset if I have to pitch it. If I knit and sell my creations then I know they'll get used, but I don't have to watch the deterioration. It seems highly weird to me that I feel this way about my knits. After all the wearing out means that they were well used and well loved, right?
Regardless, I am working on these bad boys from Wendy Johnson's Socks from the Toe Up. I really like these and they seemed to knit up fast. I used Stroll Tonal yarn from KnitPicks.

Waiting..... always waiting

2010-05-25T14:48:00.000+10:00

Hoping they'll call this week and let my hubby know if he got this job or not so that I know whether or not I can start packing. OR if I can go and start looking for a job again. These are things that would be nice to know. They called about two weeks ago wanting more info to send to the HR which tipped us off on the fact that they might be hiring him, but we haven't heard back since. I don't want to move again so soon, but it would be nice for the hubby to have a job so that it's out of the way and taken care of. I hate waiting.

LawnMower Man

2010-05-23T12:10:00.003+10:00

At nine this evening I was driving around and there was a "dude" riding a lawnmower in the dark. Cuttin' the hell out of some grass. The lawnmower even had headlights (which is the reason I noticed it to begin with). This is obvious to me that these things have always had headlights and perhaps I just never had cause to notice before? Or they don't and this guy wired his up so he could run that bad boy at night?
My hubby got a new cell phone and he got a Mario Bros. ring tone. I told him he should get the theme song to Star Wars as my ring tone when I call. My son piped up and said " Yeah, you should get the one that goes : (starts humming Darth Vader's theme) cause then you know when the bad guys are coming." Thanks son.

The Hits Just Keep on Coming

2010-04-30T04:33:00.003+10:00

Of all the things I had planned for my day yesterday, breaking my ankle was NOT one of them. Not only do I feel stupid for falling down the stairs (there were only two of them) and I cringe every time the picture of my ankle turned completely to the inside comes to mind; the knowledge that I was on my hands and knees on a sidewalk of a busy street with my butt facing traffic screaming curses at the top of my lungs makes it all that much worse. At least it gave me something to laugh about while waiting for the X-ray. Actually the jury's still out on whether or not it's actually broken. It may just be a horrible sprain (keeping fingers crossed because that's only two weeks of recovery time and the crutches and I are not getting along). I've sprained my ankle before and I don't remember screaming quite so much in pain. I would have rather have had another gall bladder attack or be in labor again because it was less painful then the pain that radiated off my ankle yesterday. Not to mention the fact that once I crawled to the stairs and got seated I thought I was going to puke from the pain. That's only happened once before and it required surgery to remove the offending gall bladder. It actually stopped hurting for a good twenty minutes as I went into shock, at which time I realized I had also skinned my knee (something I was completely unaware of until the pain in my ankle stopped). I am still in awe of the amount of pain caused and NEVER want to feel anything like that again, thank you very much.

There's a First Time for Everything

2010-04-21T16:56:00.002+10:00

Almost six months since my last post. I've been busy working at the Waffle House. Or I was until I got fired. I was shocked. I've never been fired before and how does that look when after seven years of no work you come back only to get fired in five months. I'm wondering if this is a case for the EEOC, but part of me realizes that it's not really worth it because there are better paying jobs out there. For me it's the principal of the thing because I feel like I was wrongly fired. In fact I'm sure I was wrongly fired. I felt like I had a target on my back ever since the new manager got there and even more so after the register mishap. If I did get my job back then it would probably be less than a month before I lost it again for some other insanely asinine reason. Seems like it's not worth it until I think about going to look for another job and them calling the Waffle House to find out why I was fired. It may keep me from getting another job, not to mention the fact that they would be undeservedly smearing my character and I'm not okay with that. I need a few days to think however, seeing as I am upset and any talking to anyone will only result in my crying in frustration because the conversation goes in circles, like they have one thought in their head and it can not be changed even though the truth is in the ticket books.

Celebrating 100 Posts!!!! Woot!

2009-10-25T15:00:00.006+10:00

At your 100th post you're supposed to write 100 things about yourself so here goes:
1. I survived the flu and am feeling better starting today.
2. I'm pretty sure I will wind up with a flu again before the year is out since I can't get a flu shot.
3. I conveniently developed an egg allergy just in time for the swine flu season keeping me from getting said flu shot.
4. I like cartoons
5. More than my kids
6. In fact I'm watching Ni Hao Kai Lan right now at one in the morning without one kid within the vicinity.
7. I am okay with this....... most of the time.
8. I'm a night owl
9. I sleep better during the day
10. I've tried sleeping at night like normal people only to be sleepy all day and wide awake at night (this was still after a month of having a "regular" sleeping pattern).
11. When I go on trips this does not apply for some reason ( I sleep fine at night and feel fine during the day).
12. I am afraid of enclosed spaces
13. I'm equally afraid of wide open spaces
14. Apparently my spaces have to be just right
15. I love listening to The News from Lake Wobegon
16. It reminds me of stories that my grandparents tell
17. Last year my grandfather died.
18. We knew before leaving for Guam that he was going to die
19. The man living next door to my SIL looks like my grandfather
20. I cry everytime after seeing him
21. I wasn't here when my grandfather passed and couldn't go to his funeral
22. I think it's just now hitting me that I'm not going to see him when I go home to visit my family
23. Someone told me that not being there would make losing him "not as bad"
24. They were wrong...... it just delayed the realization
25. I just moved back to the states from Guam
26. We were there for three years
27. It was pretty and warm and there were no Wal-Marts or Olive Gardens
28. It takes a whole day flying to get to the east coast of the US from Guam
29. That's way longer than any human being should have to be on a plane
30. I like watching the Star Wars movies
31. I like the originals better.
32. I also like Wallace and Gromit
33. Mainly because Gromit knits
34. I'm a self taught knitter
35. I first picked up the needles when I was 12
36. I picked them back up and became addicted at the age of 23
37. I always feel like I'm forgetting to do something important and it makes me have a moment of panic
38. I have a reoccurring dream where I'm at school, but I don't know where or when my next class is or I can't remember my locker combination so I can't get my books or my schedule and so I fail school, or I'm supposed to have been working for the past few days but I forgot and now I've lost my job.
39. I hate this dream
40. I wish I knew why I have that reoccurring dream so that I could stop having it and so I could stop feeling like I'm forgetting something important all the time.
41. For the record I have never forgotten something important
42. I am a procrastinator
43. I work better under pressure at the last minute
44. I enjoy playing video games
45. I like the games where you fight melee style because I like smashing things
46. This preference crossovers to real life in the form of Filipino Martial Arts
47. I have four rattan sticks and I love hitting things with them
48. I'm not above cheating in a fight
49. I believe the only fair fight is the one you lose
50. This means that I am a biter, pincher and hair puller.
51. I poke eyeballs too
52. I will poke other balls as well.
53. I hope to never be in a fight, but I believe in being able to defend your self
54. I love to read
55. I read my first novel "Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself" by Judy Blume when I was five years old
56. At the time I thought a colored fountain was a fountain where the water came out in colors or maybe had coke instead of water (like a soda fountain) and I wished that they still had them because they sounded cool
57. I later found out (several years later in a history class) what a colored fountain really was. It wasn't cool.
58. I hate having sand grit on me. It's the most annoying thing ever.
59. I cringe everytime I hear the word "panties". It just sounds like a bad word.
60. I have an auto immune disease. It's psoriasis.
61. It burns like a second degree sunburn and itches until it makes you cry from frustration
62. My mom also has an auto immune disease. Crohn's
63. I'm the lucky one.
64. When I was a kid I never thought my mom would live to see me graduate high school
65. She did and was there when my daughter was born
66. I think she'll outlive us all
67. I always thought I would die by the age of 25
68. I'm glad I didn't
69. I hope I outlive us all.
70. I want to travel the world
71. Preferably in first class
72. My children act out movies while they watch them. When no one's around, so do I.
73. cuddling with my kids, hot cocoa, warm blankies and knitting are my favorite things
74. This may be why my favorite season is autumn
75. I enjoy reading fanfiction on the internet
76. Mostly of the mature persuasion
77. Someday I hope to write a novel
78. That doesn't suck
79. When I get hungry I actually crave vegetables
80. I think this comes from a childhood of mainly Hamburger Helper for dinner
81. I think older things have more soul then newer things (furniture, homes, etc)
82. I stopped believing in ghosts this past year
83. One would have to appear in front of me, say "I'm a ghost. Check this out." and then fly through me before I think I would believe again
84. I blame the hoakie Ghost Hunter shows for this
85. I'm not sure anymore what happens when you die
86. I hope there's another existence on the other side
87. It saddens me to think that there might not be
88. I wish a ghost would appear and clear all this mess up.
89. Nicely
90. I love Cracker Barrel
91. Sometimes I wish I could live there
92. When I was a young girl I wanted to marry Wolverine of the X-Men
93. After seeing Wolverine: Origins I realized that I still want to
94. If I won the lottery I would still buy a Kia for my car and spend less than 120,000 on a home
95. I like to think the rest would go to charity
96. In reality I would probably spend it on traveling
97. I hate when my husband snores
98. Sometimes I think of putting something like raisins up his nose to get him to stop
99. I also think of drawing on his face with a Sharpie while he sleeps
100. If he ever really pisses me off, I will.

What Could Suck More?

2009-10-21T16:50:00.001+10:00

The flu. I think it has found me.

Psoriasis Sucks

2009-10-20T01:55:00.002+10:00

I found that they're having a Walk for the Cure for Psoriasis here in Charlotte this coming weekend. I wish I had known sooner so that I could have signed up. Maybe I can still go up there and donate and have all my friends donate or something. I hope they do it again next year so that I can participate.
All this is made even more important to me by the fact that it seems like the Humira is starting to not be as effective. I'm finding that I'm getting some inverse spots back and my joints are screaming at me. All this may also be due to the dip in temperature (I'm crossing my fingers on this one) but I was starting to notice mroe aches and spots before we left Guam, but I shrugged it off to stress. I'm still shrugging things off to stress until I get to a doctor and he/she tells me otherwise. I'm hoping it's just the cold weather and a little hydrocortisone creme and ibuprofen will put everything back to rights. Say a prayer for me and keep your fingers crossed.

It's About Confidence

2009-10-15T19:22:00.006+10:00

I finished a baby hat today. It didn't take that long and has me wondering why the LYS hasn't received more of the little buggers. Maybe I'm just an overachiever? I'm going to make another one tomorrow out of the same yarn and then I might go buy some more yarn (gasp!) and knit a few more in cotton or a wool cotton blend. I'm wanting to try Rowan's Wool Cotton and this gives me a good excuse to buy just one skein and see how it knits up. In fact I'm looking at this as an opportunity to try several different yarns one skein at a time (Malabrigo..... I'm lookin' at you). The superwash wool that I picked up was Mission Falls and I have to say it is surprisingly soft. I'm seeing a sweater in my future. The alpaca is still sitting here as an art piece, although my son decided he wanted to knit a hat and pushed my needles through the center of pull ball and completely twisted everything up. I had to pull a few yards from the center and untangle the mess and wrap it around the outside (once I use up those yards the ball will truly be a center pull ball again). I had one moment of insanity where I considered rewinding the whole thing into a ball, but then came up with this brain saving solution.
I also found what has to be one of the best quotes of all time while looking around on other knit blogs.
"Most man chores just require the confidence to whack the crap out of something until it works."
Amen, sister.

Happiness..... Thy Name is Close Knit

2009-10-14T11:28:00.003+10:00

I found the LYS!!!!! It's called Close Knit Knittery (aka the yellow house). I walked in with a huge smile and by the time I left I was still grinning like an idiot. On Tuesday nights they have a knit night so everyone was in there knitting together around a huge rustic wooden dining table. This place is the best yarn store I have ever been in. It's a house and it has a huge front porch with a swing and rocking chairs. There were so many colors of Cascade 220 on the walls I just wanted to stare at it for hours (really someone should photograph it and put it in a museum). It had yarn crammed into every crevice and the lady at the front counter, Dawn (? I stink at remembering names and honestly the woolen fumes were making me giddy with happiness), was the sweetest lady ever. She wound my 660 yd skein of alpaca (thank God!) and I bought an extra skein of Mission Falls Superwash wool to make a baby hat with since they collect them for the local hospitals. I don't really know what I'm going to make with this load of alpaca, but for now it's screaming wrap at me. It's so soft and beautiful. It's somewhere between a fingering and a DK weight (maybe more of a fingering) and is so soft and cozy feeling. It has autumn wear in every fiber of it's being. I'm also seeing a pair of fingerless gloves in this huge skein. Right now I'm just petting it......... repeatedly. I may just keep the ball as a pet.

Settling in with Hyperventilation

2009-10-13T17:13:00.002+10:00

Amazingly we made it here to North Carolina. It's a plane trip I will never make again unless I have First Class seats or a death wish. I spent the first few days feeling drunk from jet lag and marveling at how much my ankles can swell. Currently we are without transportation until after 6pm every evening. This doesn't help with the house and job hunting fronts. I'm also finding that the more time I spend looking for a job, the less air I am physically able to draw into my lungs before I begin to freak out and need a paper bag. I haven't worked in seven years. Scratch that..... I haven't worked a job that pays with money in seven years. Being a mom is hard work and lends you many skills that can be taken with you into the workforce. But having been out of the loop for the past seven years has left me wondering what I'm good at, what can I do, what do I like to do....... basically I'm faced with the question of WHO AM I? This question is answered by another bout of panic attacks and hyperventilation. Throw in the fact that I am now expected to be the main bread winner (self imposed expectation) and I am FREAKING OUT!!!! All this occurs internally and I keep having that dream where I'm at school and I'm supposed to be in class, but I've missed several months and I don't have a schedule to tell me where to go. I hate that dream. It's one that I have often and if I could I would kick it's ass far away after hobbling it's legs so that it could never come back.
Let us pause for a moment to breathe.................. yeah, that crap isn't working.

Stick Fighting is Dangerous

2009-09-05T22:38:00.004+10:00

Every Saturday is a practice day from 9 to 11 at the beach. So much fun. Today we also had a barbeque. I'm gonna miss this group of peeps when I have to leave.
Kash is our teacher. He's a badass.

And this is Stacy (Spaztacular), Trish (Munchkin) and her boyfriend, Matt.

I don't have a pic of Daniel, but here's a pic of him holding a praying mantis on the end of his training stick.

New Yarn Equals True Love

2009-09-04T15:20:00.003+10:00

I got my yarn! Which means that I've cast on for new projects and left my current projects laying to the side, sobbing softly. I started DD's blanket and I'm doubting that I'm going to have it finished before we have to leave. Especially since I just found out this week that we're leaving by the 21st...... of this month. What is today????? CrAP.
The blanket is turning out beautifully though.

I also cast on for a Blossom Hat from the fall 09 issue of Designer Knitting. It's coming along and it'll look great on my daughter. I was hoping that it would be my hat, but it's looking like it's going to be too small. I tried to start a few mittens, but they were coming out too small so I had to frog them. It's my first try at mittens so I'm trying to get the basic pattern committed to memory. Maybe these can be the projects that I finish on the plane.

I May Have Lost My MiNd

2009-08-27T17:02:00.003+10:00

My mind is reeling. I have (within the past 24 hours) come up with 20 knitting projects that I HAVE to get done before we leave here. The thought of disembarking the plane and immediately freezing to the ground outside because of a lack of wooly garments seems like a complete possibility. Therefore all four members of my family are going to need hats, gloves, scarves, sweaters and socks. I'm sure that I can finish this feat...... if I suddenly develop a mutant power that allows me super speed. Hmmmm, that might set my knitting afire.

The Sock Gnome Strikes Again

2009-08-25T01:07:00.003+10:00

I can't find my dark purple Phineas sock! I need it so I know how many sts to cast on for the second sock. If you're reading this Mr. Sock Gnome I have a very colorful alpaca/wool blend sock that you can have if you return my purple Phineas sock intact and without any crumbs inside the toe ( I know you like to eat Cheez-its in bed, but please be curtious). If that doesn't strike your fancy, I also have a pink Phineas sock that will never need a mate (I used the rest of the yarn to make some lovely socks that I'm wearing at the moment....... I also know how you like the girlier colors......I won't ask so that you won't have to tell).

Busy as Worker Bees

2009-08-25T00:42:00.003+10:00

Newfound freedom has led me into a busier life. I've been taking self defense classes. I finished the advanced class at the end of July. Since then I've joined a Filipino martial arts group. I'm learning a lot and get to get out in the sun every Saturday for two hours when we meet. There are practices during the week too, held indoors. The kids have been busy taking various sports to keep them running around during the summer break. It'll be back to school next week though, so they'll be busy with that.
I've been trying to lose weight with no luck so far. My focus has shifted to being healthy and having enough energy to do things with my kids. DH is leaving the military since his knee can not be fixed. We'll be leaving our tropical island before the holidays get into full swing...... which leads me into KNITTING.
We'll be back home just in time for the cold weather. I've already knitted my son a blanket using a pattern from Debbie Bliss' fall magazine (love this magazine!). It's the Running Stitch Blanket and I modified it by making it bigger with only one layer/side (I wanted to finish it sometime before he leaves for college) and I didn't put in the contrasting running stitch. But the stitch pattern is beautiful in itself and it turned out better then I hoped. I'm trying my hand at a top down cardigan for my daughter. My first attempt was knit from the bottom up and is a little tighter then I would like. It actually fits perfectly, but it's knit in cotton and will very likely shrink the first time it's washed making it too small for her. I'm going up a needle size, adding a few stitches and trying it from the top down because I hate seams. I have to figure out how top down construction will work. I already have the gauge figured, but I have to figure out how many stitches to start with around the neck. I'm probably overthinking it and making it more complicated then it needs to be in my mind.
I'm hoping to come into some yarn shortly so I can begin knitting a cardigan for myself. I'm looking at Oblique on knitty.com in a heathered plum color. I also want to start on a blanket for my daughter and a sweater for my little boy. I want them to be warm when we get where we're going...... where ever that may be. I'm planning on having at least one of those projects for the plane ride (18 hours in coach..... ARGHHHHHHHH!). Probably my son's sweater since I want to have DD blanket done so she can use it on the plane and I think my cardigan would take longer then the plane ride and I wish to have it ready to wear when I get off the plane. DS sweater could be done in one piece and finished before we get to Hawaii (crap..... what will I do from there for the next eight hours?). I may need more then one project. Hopefully they won't confiscate my needles. I will cry.

Why I Love My Dear Hubby

2009-06-21T19:25:00.002+10:00

So I'm sitting and knitting in the bedroom and suddenly I hear my DH sing ( from the adjoining room),
"Ho-may-hi-ma-heh-la!"
a few seconds tick by
"Chicken!"
a few more seconds
"sambolina....... I love you!"
still a few more seconds and then
"it's delicious!"

I can't help but laugh.

SWEEEEEEET!

2009-04-25T22:43:00.002+10:00

So I had my first Humira shot on the 8th of April. It hurt like a mother. A week later there was a noticable difference in my skin. Sweet. This past Wednesday I had my second shot and I took the advice of my mom and several other Humira takers on Ravelry and took the shot in my stomach this time. It didn't hurt. I barely even felt it. Double sweet. My fingers aren't hurting anymore and I'm actually able to write again (something that had become impossible with the joint pain in my fingers). Triple sweet.
I sat outside, sweated and didn't get itchy. Even sweeter still!
All this has given me a case of startitis (as the Yarn Harlot would call it) and I have cast on several projects even though I still have several projects that are just a sewn seam away from being finished. I need a case of finish-it-upitis. I cast on for my second Bellatrix Deux sock and started a pair of socks for my son. There's also a blanket that I started. I had this huge skein of white acrylic (Red Heart) and decided that a nice seed stitch throw would be the best thing to make of it. So far it is coming along good, but I've become a bit of a yarn snob in that I keep wishing it were a natural fiber like cotton or wool. I have about six or so projects on Ravelry that are in progress not counting the socks that I cast on for my son and the acrylic blanket. There's also another throw that I started about a month ago in seed stitch as well, but made from Suri Dream (knitpicks). I only have three skeins of the Suri so I'm taking my time until I can afford to get a few more skeins. I tried casting on for a scarf knit in self striping Felici (Schooner), but I couldn't get it the way I wanted and I think I'm going to have to try and look up double knitting. At first I tried a k1, sl1 pattern, but didn't like the texture that I was getting. Then I tried knitting in a tube, but I don't like the way it knits up that way either. With the tube scarves I always feel like they're off kilter and would prefer if both sides were attached in some way. This is what made me think of DK as an option. It's a technique that I've been wanting to try and a scarf would be a nice jumping off point. And for some stupid reason when I bought yarn I decided that I needed to try the new cotton sport yarn instead of getting more Suri (which I'm going to need more of eventually) and I have it in my head to cast that on as something soon. I need to finish some of this stuff. Some of these unfinished projects are things that I were supposed to send to my mom back at Christmas time (what can I say..... I hate the post office). Anyways, I'm off to finish up the first sock for my son. If I can buckle down then maybe I'll sew up the kitchener seam on that hood and get it finished so I can mail it to my mom and weave in the ends on the Jayne hat so I can send it off to my sister. Here's to hoping.

Full Circle

2009-03-23T01:04:00.002+10:00

I may actually begin to blog about knitting and not my health problems. I have a full body outbreak of psoriasis and in the process of educating myself and asking the doctor the right questions I found that psoriasis can cause several vitamin deficiencies. On April 8th I will be put on a biologic called Humira to clear the full body flare that I'm having and to help stave off the arthritis that has also been developing from the psoriasis. I'm glad that the doctor finally went to this step because I have had lots of spots covering my body since November. A few of my spots have been with me for more then four years which is a pretty good indicator that my body isn't planning on a remission anytime soon. About a month ago I started having very noticable joint pain in my fingers. I had joint pain in other places, but didn't think anything about it because I thought I was too young to have arthritis so it must be muscle pain. All my tendon and ligament problems are from the psoriasis as well.
Hopefully all that will disappear once I go on this medicine. I started taking a multivitamin a few weeks ago (before I found out about the vitamin deficiencies this past week) just so that I would be doing all I could heath wise to help my body out (in addition to eating right, exercising, drinking plenty of water...... something I actually suck at most days......, and getting enough sleep). About a week into taking them I got a burst of energy that I hadn't had in a long time. Gratefully that has stuck with me and has made life a bit better (fatigue was one of my chief complaints..... still have it, but not as bad as before..... at least now I can do things).
I had to settle on taking Benadryl for itching since the pill the doctor gave me knocks me out. I tried to see if I would get used to it, but got sick of feeling half drunk all the time. I was sleeping like a hibernating bear and couldn't drive (it felt very unsafe to do so). Sometimes I take it if things get really bad and it's Friday. That way I have the weekend to sleep and my hubby is home with the kids and can drive us around.
I feel very vindicated at this point. For so long I felt like there was something wrong with my body, but couldn't really pinpoint it. I had tried to explain the symptoms to doctors only to be looked at funny. So then I would take a step back and think "Maybe I just feel weird because I recently had a baby or maybe I'm just imagining things" and would go on with my life only to have the same cycle of symptoms hit me again. My mom has Crohn's which is an auto immune disease and I knew that my dad's brother has psoriasis, which is another auto immune disease and puts me in a prime position to have one myself (just my mom having one really ups my chance). They (auto immune diseases) also have vague symptoms that plague you and don't show up on tests given until you really have a flare. But they can damage your body for years before then and so I knew that if I had one that it needed to be found and dealt with so that it would do as little damage as possible (preventative measures). Not always possible, but worth trying. At least I know that I'm not crazy. My current doctor once told me that because I entertained the notion that it might all be in my head that it probably wasn't. She kept working with me until we found out what it was.
I can't wait to be me again. To feel like me again and not the run down, half living being that I've survived as for the past several years. I feel hope and happiness and I feel like I have something to look forward to because I'll have the health to actually live and not just exist. My mom once told me when she was real sick that she was tired of just existing. I now know what she meant. You live day to day waiting for a "good day" that never seems to come. That day when you'll have enough energy and feel good enough to go out and do something you enjoy. You keep waiting and waiting because that's all you have the energy for. I got some of that back and I look forward to getting it all back. In fact I'm TAKING it back, damnit!

Merry Christmas to You

2008-12-25T00:32:00.002+10:00

For the last 29 minutes it has been Christmas here. I slept all last night and all of today (pretty much). I saw the derm doctor on the 23 and she gave me this pill for itching. It is the pill from hell! At five in the morning I tried to get up. I wanted to get up, but I couldn't and then I fell into a coma that lasted until almost 3 in the afternoon. Once I was up and mobile (I really had to pee!) I still felt like I was going to fall out. Needless to say that I haven't taken it this evening, but I'm starting to get tired which is just crazy given the amount of sleep that I've already had (17 hours!!!!). I know that I'll be woken by the kids in the morning so they can open gifts so I might try a nap (since I didn't take the hell pill I should be able to wake easily). I'm going to give it a few days and then try it again (while the hubby's home) because the day that I took it I had been up for a full day so that might have had something to do with it. It's an antihistamine so I can't see it's effects lasting much longer then 8 hours, but I guess I'll find out. I'm afraid.
All the gifts are wrapped and I'm kind of annoyed at my hubby because he got me something. I know... weird, but let me explain. I was under the impression that the car and the $200 worth of clothes that I got were my Christmas gift. I still don't know what he wants for Christmas (because he doesn't know..... actually it's some computer part that he's trying to win off of e-bay, but has had no luck), but I got him two things for under the tree. Nothing big because his computer parts are costing a pretty penny, but something to open. He went and spent $80 on me and now I feel like I didn't get him enough because I only spent $40 on his two gifts. He's an annoying ass.
I wish I could find that perfect gift. You know the one. Something that someone really wants, but it's such a cheap little thing that you don't think they would ever really want it but they wear it everywhere and love it until it falls apart. He got me such a gift a few weeks ago. We were at the airforce base and they had an Asian furniture sale. They also had Asian jewelry and such and I saw this bracelet made of Mahjong tiles for $8. I didn't have any cash and we were kind of in a money bind at the time (this was before we got the new car and all our money was going towards a rental) so I didn't want to take any out. While I was looking at some other things that they had (I believe me and my daughter were enthralled with the fans on display) he secretly bought it and then presented it to me once we got in the car. I don't know what it is about this bracelet that makes me so happy but it does and I wear it everyday (which it beats my wedding ring in that respect because I haven't worn that since my daughter was born.... it doesn't fit anymore). I don't even think the thing looks good on me, but I love it because it's unique. I get a lot of compliments on it all the time and people asking me where I got it.
I'm kind of afraid that hubby might have gotten that Mahjong set for me as a Christmas gift. I like Mahjong, but I don't know how to play it. I do know that you need four people to play it though and I don't know four people that would sit and play an eight hour game with me! It would be nice to have a Mahjong set but I would never use it. It would be more for show which is not a good enough reason for me to justify $80 being spent on it. I could go shake my gift and I might know (the tiles make a distinctive sound).
Still working on the head covering for my mom. It wasn't long enough and I'm wondering now if it's going to be too bulky under the chin. I have a backup if that turns out to be the case (a different pattern that she'll like just as well if not more). I did manage to wrestle her sock back from the sock gnome that stole it. He was sleeping in it, but I was able to offer up a fair trade with a lone silk blend sock that I had on hand. He seemed happy with the trade and I'm hoping he will refrain from stealing anymore socks in the future. I will send the pair off the day after Christmas (as long as the post office is open).

All I Want For Christmas is........

2008-12-17T12:50:00.002+10:00

Well I haven't knitted since Thanksgiving and I'm still having the pains in my arms and chest. So it has nothing to do with knitting and I'm going to start knitting again and hope that I can get my Christmas gift to my mom done and out to her within a couple of days. I was right when I thought that knitting actually was helping the pain go away because it's hurt worse since I stopped (the shoulder pain) meaning it's probably more of an arthritis then tendonitis. Ah, well. I'm going to knit up the Ice Queen head cover for my mom as well as another pair of socks in the deliciously soft RYC Cashsoft 4 ply. I picked up some beads yesterday and found a tutorial on a much easier way to do a provisional CO. I'm all set. I just need to get back into the grove. I gave up on the Cobweb Lace Shawl. I wondered how much she would really use it and it also seemed that the lace was just too complex for my ADD brain. I'd always get to the same row and then I'd start messing it up and having to start over again (5 times total). I have enough of the yarn to make her a whole set including socks, mittens and the headcover. I would still have enough left over to make myself a pair of socks (and I think I will).
We got our new car. I'm so excited. It's my Christmas gift. I was able to get a Kia Spectra (which is what I wanted) and we got a pretty good deal on it. It's even a 2009 so it hasn't even been born yet (ha ha ha). We've already put 1000 miles on the baby, but I'm happier that I don't have to worry about the thing breaking down for a few years. DH is scheduled for another surgery after the beginning of the year. Not to fix his ACL, but to do another clean out. His body produces too much scar tissue and it's interfering with movement. Not to mention causes pain. The doctor doesn't think that another surgery will do any good, but wants to give it another try along with giving him steroids and the like to keep the inflammation down this time around and seeing if that makes a difference. Most likely he'll be going in front of the med board and they will kick him out of the navy with a nice little disability package. Not something we had really planned on but we're rolling with the punches and rewriting our plans.
I go see the dermatologist next week to see if she can give me something stronger for the psoriasis. It's taking over my body (probably the cause of the pains in my arms and chest as well). I have little kids asking me what happened to my arms and legs. They are covered in spots and I look like I had chickenpox. It's getting insane.... not to mention the itching.
Really I don't care as long as it's not on my face. I may look like a leaper, but at least my face is still pretty. Only I'm starting to get a small bit on my face so that's why I'm headed to the doctor.
I finished reading the Twilight series. Yes, I too got sucked into it (ha ha ha). I'm always game for a good vampire story. I actually had never heard of it until I saw a preview for the movie online (no previews on TV here for the movie at all existed). The look they share when he saves her from the van was so intense I knew that I had to know the story going on there. I always check to see if a movie was made from a book before I go see it so that I can read the real story before seeing the movie. When I found out there were four books in the series and I didn't want to put it down after the first few sentences, then I knew I had stuck library gold. So I bought all four books and read them within three days. Then I went and saw the movie and must say that it was all awesome. Since the end of Harry Potter I've been looking for the next good thing. Only bad thing is that I read to darn fast and find myself done with a book within the same days that I get it (if it's good). I also recently picked up The Road. They're making a movie of it. I had to stop reading it though because the story is heart wrenching. Stories like that are good, but depressing and I can only take so much of it at a time. I can't watch Bambi and I skip over the part in the Lion King where Mufasa dies.
Can't wait for Christmas. I got all my shopping done early and I got everything the kids wanted except for one thing that I couldn't find. Last two Christmases we've had to get whatever we thought the kids might like because either we didn't know what they wanted or there wasn't anything left. They were very specific this year. Our son is usually specific so he's not hard to buy for, but our daughter is more difficult. I had to pointedly ask her what she wanted. She asked for art supplies more then toys. She's also getting an iPod. Just a shuffle. If she can show me that she can keep care of that then she might get upgraded next year to one with video.

Waiting and waiting....... and waiting

2008-11-25T13:43:00.002+10:00

Our cars are broken. It will cost more to fix them then they are worth. Right now we are renting a car and waiting to hear back to see if we got approved to buy a new car (if we're going to throw away $500 a month then it should be on something we get to keep). We've been waiting for more then a week for the car place and the bank to tell us whether or not we have been approved. I called the car place today and he said that he had heard something, but he's busy right now and could I wait thirty minutes for him to call me back. Sure, I've only been waiting and dying to know. Not to mention they are holding our money ransom until we find something out. We gave $300 as a down payment (to reserve the car) and if we don't get the loan we get that money back. If we do get the loan then we get to turn in the rental and get about the same amount back. We've been living on only $300 for the past two weeks and would like the rest of our money back NOW thank you very much. After thirty minutes I called back and he said to give him five more minutes because he was with a customer. Could you at least tell me yes or no!!!! I'll be really POed if we were declined because he could have taken the 5 seconds to let me know that so I could drive up there and get my money back (and no it's not a scam..... this is a military business that we're buying a car through so it works a little differently then a car dealership out in town and is the cheapest option we have for a car at this point..... we got a lot of rebates and saved a load of money then if we bought out in town). Okay it's been five minutes. Please call me back already!!!
Anyways, so of all the places that you could get pneumonia, do you think that Guam would be the most likely..... where it's 86 degrees everyday? No? Well we have our cold and flu season too and germs are not picky as to the temperature outside as long as they can take residence in your body (ie being cold does not give you a cold and catching a chill does not make you get sick). My dear son got pneumonia and spent the weekend in the hospital. He was so pitiful. His poor little four year old self sat still both times they gave him an IV (his first one fell out). He cried and asked if they were done yet. He's better now and more animated then ever (thanks to his steroid).
Okay. We were declined. You couldn't have told me that earlier!!!! And I'm even more pissed because now he's saying that it'll take a few days to get our money back because we paid cash because they don't keep money in the office. Next time I'll be careful and ask very detailed questions before giving money. He made it out like would only take a day or two to hear back on whether or not we were approved and then he could get us our money back almost immediately. No turkey for Thanksgiving. Thank you.... thank you all. I so want to cry right now. And on top of everything else I have tendonitis in both of my shoulders as well as a strained muscle in my chest (which provokes a stabbing pain when I move a certain way) and cubital tunnel syndrome.... all from knitting so I've been told I can't knit for a few months. I have a Christmas deadline people. Joy to the freakin' world!!!!!!!!!

Tears of Sadness and Joy

2008-09-30T23:59:00.004+10:00

My Grandpa passed away on Sunday night 28th of September. Yesterday I didn't know how to feel. I felt blank and found myself staring into space thinking of absolutely nothing. I went through a few hours of crying without knowing what I was crying for at first. By the end of the day I was still sad, but felt peaceful. We all knew that he was going to die. He told us before I left and came to Guam that he only had a year to live. That was almost two years ago. He also said that he was okay about it because he never expected to live past 80 (I think he was 83 when he passed) and that he was ready. I was sad when he told us and I think I did most of my mourning then. There were times when I wanted to feel like it wasn't fair, but in my mind I knew he had lived past life expectancy, he had a long adventurous life, he was sick and in pain and he just wanted to be with Grandma. I'm happy for him because I know that he's no longer in pain and doesn't have to struggle for air. He was surrounded by those that loved him and he was able to pass at home, where he wanted to, instead of a hospital. He knew he was loved and I was able to tell him what I wanted to say. Every time I think of him I see him laughing and I think it's because he's made it there where Grandma was waiting for him and he's happy.
I love you always

Pos or Neg, Pros and Cons

2008-08-31T23:09:00.005+10:00

Well on top of the psoriasis I may also have lupus. A sucky disease to have, to be sure, but it would be an answer to the question that I've had for a little over five years now. I've had headaches, fatigue, itchy skin, bruising, gastrointestinal problems, muscle and joint pains and just general feeling like I'm coming down with the flu, over and over and over again. I had the blood tests taken last Friday and I'm waiting until Wednesday after Labor Day to call if I haven't heard anything. I'm kind of hoping it comes back negative, but kind of hoping it comes back positive. I went in on Friday thinking that I had the flu or maybe strep because my throat felt a little scratchy. The doctor looked at me, went to check something and came back saying she thought I might have lupus. My cheeks and nose were red like I had a sunburn and they felt hot, but I hadn't been outside in over a week, plus it had been raining and overcast for two weeks straight. I had only been outside long enough to walk to my car and then walk from the car into the doctor's office and I had sat in the air conditioning for more then twenty minutes before seeing her so I shouldn't have been hot, not to mention it was overcast outside. She brought another doctor in who said it also looked like a classic malar rash. I've been trying to convince myself since then that I just get hot easily. If it comes back negative I'm going to be upset because I'll be back at square one and not knowing what's wrong is frustrating. At this point it would almost be a relief to find out that I have lupus just so that I can know and they can give me something that might make me feel better. At least for a little while. I'm in my late twenties and I know that I shouldn't feel as run down and old as I feel. I should have energy and be enjoying life. I know I'm not depressed (I went ahead and ruled out mental things first because I had just had kids when all this started and wanted to make sure it wasn't postpartum depression or something like that). At first I was scared it might come back positive. I think I'm more scared now that it'll come back negative.
We recently found out that my son is allergic to guinea pigs, which is funny. We have two guinea pigs and he's scared of them, but I was holding one the other day and my son got on my lap. The guinea got in his face and within a few minutes my son had hives all around his lips and chin. I waited a few days and then took some shedded fur off of the guineas and rubbed it on his leg just to make sure it was the guineas and not something he ate and sure enough, within about two minutes he had hives breaking out in the exact spot. I gave him some Benadryl, washed his leg and put some hydrocortisone cream on his hives before sending him to bed. The hives were gone within twenty minutes. It's just crazy how fast he broke out. It's also a good thing that he's scared of them. As long as they don't give him any other problems I think it's okay to keep them as long as he doesn't come in contact with their fur, but once they kick the bucket we won't be getting anymore. My dreams of a guinea farm just went up in smoke ;-)
On the knitting front I finished three of my four projects for the Ravelympics. The darn Sweetheart Socks gave me trouble (as well as a week of near continuos sleep because it felt like I was coming down with the flu). I've now started on a sweater for my hubby. Or I should say I've started a sweater that I'm really probably going to wear more than him, but it's for him. My son wanted some "dark socks" that I've started as well. And I also have a pair of knee socks on needles to jazz up my daughter's school uniform. "Ruby" started school this last week and was really excited to be riding the bus this year. "Max" will be going to preschool and he can't wait. It starts this Friday, but he is bummed that he doesn't get to ride the bus. We keep reassuring him that he will next year.
Hubby had to go back to physical therapy for another round because he still can't bend his knee 90 degrees and is having pain. They may have to do exploratory surgery because he shouldn't be having pain at this point. On a funny note, his knee gave out as he was taking a bowl of Campfire stew out of the freezer (he was cooling it off for the kids) and it caused him to jerk and fling the stew all over the front of the refrigerator. We laughed for awhile about that one (or maybe I laughed and he gave me dirty looks..... I can't remember). I love my gimp.

Gearing for the Ravelympics

2008-08-07T23:19:00.003+10:00

I think I may have overdone it and I'm getting nervous. To update, I was invited to Ravelry (online knitting community) and soon after found that they are holding the Ravelympics (a knitting version of the Olympics). I chose three events, the Sock Put, Shawl Relay and the Bag and Tote Backstroke. I have a total of four projects, two socks, one hobo bag and a shawl. I'm still waiting for my yarn for the shawl and the bag, but I will be able to work on the socks while waiting and I'm crossing my fingers that the rest gets here before I finish them. The socks alone will take about a week. I'll be lucky if I finish.
I can not begin to explain how much I love this site (Ravelry). It allows me to see all the projects that I have on the needles, as well as my stash and connects me to knitters the world over. Something that's very important here in Guam since knitters are few and far between. I'm thinking of starting a knitting club. Some well placed flyers on base may bring all the hidden knitters out of the woodwork for a once a week group knitting session. For now though, I am focused on the Ravelympics. My arms are going to be burnin'.

Never Goodbye

2008-07-21T12:44:00.003+10:00

I wish that I could be home and see you, but life has made that impossible. There are so many things that I wanted to say to you when I talked to you on the phone, but my own stupid sense of needing to be strong prevented me. I remember when I was a little kid and I decided to clean your TV screen. I think I used hairspray. It didn't work well at cleaning the screen and you were mad at the fuzzy, streaky mess I had made. I was scared of you then. The beauty of growing up is that we learn that the scary adults aren't so scary. We learn about their secrets, their mistakes, and we learn that they are fallable..... human, just like us. Because of that we love them even more. We love them for their humaness and we love them because of who they are now. I love you and I wish that you didn't have to go. I love your pancakes on Sunday morning (especially the pancake man), the times that you were there for me when my mom couldn't be and times when you were there for her, your stories of the navy and my mom and her brothers and sisters growing up and I will miss everything about you even though I couldn't say that on the phone..... I felt it in my heart. I feel it in my heart..... and it hurts. But I know that it's time. I could hear that in your voice, so I say I LOVE YOU, but never goodbye. Goodbye is for people that we'll never see again and I see you everyday. In the can of Popeye Spinach in the grocery store, in my husband as he talks about his navy adventures, through my mom as I listen to her voice on the phone, in the pictures that I have at home, in the pancakes that I make for my kids (sometimes I even try and make the pancake man), in the warm air of Guam knowing that you were once here, and in the night sky knowing that you can see the same stars. I love you, Grandpa and I wanted you to know that. I love you more then you ever realized. Love Sam.

Oh Happy Days

2008-07-08T14:07:00.002+10:00

I have been a busy little person since I last blogged. My hubby tore his ACL, MCL and messed up the meniscus in his knee. He is going to require surgery to have it all fixed. The good news in all this is that they'll take him off the ship and they may send us back to the states soon. It's also nice to have him home all the time...... sometimes. The biggest hurrah is that they have finally found out what is wrong with my skin. Three years of suffering may finally be over!!!! I have psoriasis. It was difficult to diagnose because the placement of it makes it look different. Lucky for me (I think), it broke out on my scalp and made itself very obvious. I'm grateful that it's not in any place that can really been seen, but that having been said it has been a real pain. A real annoying, frustrating, sometimes painful pain. Welcome to the auto immune disease club. Do I get a shirt? I'm taking things as they come and rolling with the punches.
In my knitting world (which has served to keep me from going insane as I was very itchy for a time and having something to occupy your hands with is very helpful) I have been working on another blanket. Originally I bought the yarn for a shirt, but after messing up an entire section I frogged it and decided that the color wasn't right for my mom. I debated about making a shawl out of it, but decided a blanket would cover better. It's a very simple blanket. It's all done in garter stitch . I started with CO 35 sts and knitting 33 rows. I then BO and picked up 35 sts on the left side of the square and knit 33 rows before binding off again and then picking up 70 sts along the left side (and so on and so forth). I'm on my third ball (I have twelve total) and I already have a substantially large square for a 4 ply being knit on US4 needles. I'm also still plugging away on a scarf, socks and I just recently started knitting Harry Potter's red sweater from the Charmed Knits book. So far, so good on everything

In Memory of......

2008-06-02T18:09:00.004+10:00

Christopher Shane Oliver 1981- 27 May 2008
For the past week I've been trying to understand what could be so bad about life that a man with three babies would kill himself over. I still don't understand and probably never will.You were a good man and a good friend and I hope that you rest in peace. Everyone misses you and wishes they could rewind time and stop this from being true. I hope that you found the peace that you were looking for and that someday your sons and daughter will understand.

Half Way Around the World in 30 Days

2008-05-19T09:12:00.008+10:00

Our trip to California was SOOOOOOOOO great! We flew space available so we had to be flexible and go with the flow, but that worked out perfectly for me and mine. Our first flight to Cali was dropped because of too much cargo (so they weren't taking any passengers), but two days later we caught the next flight to Cali and it took us exactly where we wanted to be.... San Diego. We had a great time at my Dad's. Everyday was fun and there were so many places to see. We went out just about everyday and got to walk around on hiking trails and the like. There was a playground close that was great for the kids to go to. My dad is a lot of fun on a daily basis. He's always doing something that makes me smile and laugh. My youngest sister is the same and my kids loved hanging with their aunt. My younger sister was also able to come down and see us (she's a college goer and is graduating!!!) and we had a lot of fun together. I got my youngest sister hooked on Firefly.

We hit the zoo, Wild Animal Park, Disneyland, California Adventures, and got to see some really pretty vistas in La Jolla. It was over WAYYYYYYYYY too fast. Getting home was a little trickier and we had to drive north to Fairfield (seven hour drive) and we were there three days trying to get a flight out to Hawaii before we gave up and went to Japan instead (there was a couple that was a category above us and they had been there two weeks trying to get a flight out to Hawaii so I knew we weren't going ot make it out any time soon). We got the flight to Yokoto and spent three days there as well, which was fun. We couldn't rent a car so we got to walk everywhere (which I enjoyed..... everything was close together). We didn't get a chance to go out into Japan and look around because we spent most of our time at the passenger terminal trying to get a flight out, but there was a children's lounge there where the kids could play and I spent my time finishing some knits.
From Japan we went to Okinawa and got to see Mt Fuji from the air. I wish I had gotten a picture because it was so awesomely impressive. From there we stopped for about an hour before continuing home. I will definitely do it again as soon as I get enough money saved. It cost us about $2000 for everything which is much cheaper then the $4500 just for plane tickets that we would have spent. Maybe next time I'll try to go all the way to the east coast. Next time I want a nice vacation I definitely will be going to visit my dad. We're hoping to get San Diego as our next station which would be great because then I could maybe work for my dad.

Cali or Bust

2008-04-07T11:37:00.002+10:00

I'm gearing up for a trip back to the states. I'll be flying Space available with two young kids, but I'm hoping that the timing of my travel will work out to my advantage. This week is Spring Break for all the kids, but I can't put in for travel until after my hubby gets home so it'll be in the middle of the break that we'll be trying to fly out and I'm hoping that most people will have already gone where they are going or that no one will be going anywhere at all. On our way back no one should be traveling for vacation so we should get a flight quickly. Especially if it's a straight shot to Guam. Either way I expect to get stuck in Hawaii for a few days there and a few days back. I know. Stuck in Hawaii. How horrible! I'm hoping to have some nice pics by the time I get back. The final destination is California to visit family and I'm really excited about it. My dad and sisters really haven't gotten to meet and spend much time with my kids. We're also planning plenty of trips to zoos and Disney and I'm hoping to do some sailing and camping while there. On my list is also a trip to Olive Garden one night for dinner. We don't have an Olive Garden here and I miss the soup, salad and breadsticks. It's torture when you can't get something that was normally available to you. Especially when they run the torture commercials! They know we don't have one here, why can't they put a local commercial over the Olive Garden one? Anyways, I can't wait to spend a few weeks with my dad and show my kids California. I'm also looking forward to the travel because it'll be a break from the everyday grind. I'll be sure to get a travel neck pillow this time so that I can nap on the plane.

In Memory of......

2008-03-24T03:40:00.004+10:00

Remy. My four month old nephew who passed away on Thursday. I'm sorry I never got to meet you. You look so much like my daughter and son when they were babies. Your aunt K told us that you love to smile and laugh. Such a beautiful baby boy. The blanket that I knit for you is sitting here next to me along with your hat. I was waiting for a sewing machine so I could sew a back liner onto it so that it would look nicer. I should have just sent it. It would have kept you warm either way. I think that if you had it then maybe it would have kept your little body from going cold and that you would know that there are people who have never met you that love you very much. You are happier and safer in God's arms and someone will answer for what happened to you. Even if it was inevitable your momma should have been there to hold you and love you, but she was too busy ruining her life. Now she can't ruin yours anymore. We love you always.
I should have sent the blanket.

Welcome Salty Dog...... arrrrrrrh!

2008-03-02T16:03:00.007+10:00

I got my yarn from PurlSoho! Yea for me! The Collinette sock yarn (Salty Dog) is a little darker then the picture, but I still like it and can't wait to have a pair of my own socks. I am also knitting the Jess Gansey using the Rowan cashsoft that I also got. I did a few gauge swatches using the recommended size needles, but it just didn't feel right so I went up one size.
It measured out 30 sts for 4" instead of 27 sts so I decided to go up one more needle size (US #4). Then after I finally got 280 sts onto a US #3 16 inch circular and got the edging done and ready for the US #4, I realized that I had knit all my gauge swatches flat instead of in the round. I wonder if that's going to make a difference? I know that it does, but I'm going to knit anyways and then measure (to make sure that it's not too far off).
The size that I'm knitting leaves zero to negative ease, but the next size up has a positive ease of more then five inches so hopefully a few extra stitches will help give the sweater the perfect ease. We shall see....... once I get about four inches into the sweater........ five years from now (so.....many....stitches).

Perfection

2008-02-20T11:51:00.012+10:00

I finished the baby blanket for my nephew a few months ago (in time for Christmas, in fact), but have waited sending it because my hubby said he wanted to buy something else and send it along with the blanket. I have decided to send it anyways (before the boy is too old for a blankie) and spent the weekend readying it for gifting. It needs a back because my weave ins are showing and I don't like that, so I bought a piece of fabric to back it with and washed both the blanket and the backing (seperately). I knew there was a chance that the colors would run and I was right.
I pulled it from the wash to find fuzz all over the inside of my washer and strewn all over the blanket, as well as greyish blocks where there were once white ones. I was almost ready to cry. Instead I sat down and hand picked all the fuzz off the blanket and found that most of the discoloration came from the halo of multicolor fuzz that was covering the blanket and that once all the fuzz was (mostly) gone that the blanket had a very soft, comfy, favorite broken in shirt kind of feel and now I love it more then before.

While washing the blanket I decided to use the remaining yarn that I had left from it to make a hat for the boy. It came out near perfect (I was squealing with delight as my son tried it on and it fit perfectly). I'm thinking of washing it before sending it so that it'll be just as soft as the blankie. I might take another day and make little booties as well, but I think there has been enough of a delay in sending. I'm waiting to see if I can borrow a friend's sewing machine so I can sew the backing onto it, otherwise it mike take another day or so to get it sewn together.
I went back to the gym for the first time since before Thanksgiving. They now have a Mommy and Me gym where I can workout during the day (instead of having to wait for hubby to get home or try to find a babysitter) and he can play. It's really great. The play area for him is covered with gym mats and foam blocks and different shapes for them to stack and jump or slide off of. There's also a climbing wall and I can't wait until he realizes it and tries it out for the first time. Once he does I won't be able to keep him off of it. He had a lot of fun and didn't want to leave, but after no exercise for several months I was ready to fall off the back of the treadmill after only thirty minutes (really I was grateful that I was able to go that long for my first time back). I don't think I'll go tomorrow, but Friday I'll be back in there. I'll need a day to rest because I'm sure that I'm going to be hurting tomorrow. Or maybe I will and just take it easy to stretch things out and keep it from cramping up. I don't know yet, I'll have to see how I feel. Right now I feel great which means I did just enough at the right intensity. In the last five minutes I really thought I was going to lose my legs and go flying off the back of the treadmill (LMAO just thinking about it). Right now I feel just about perfect :-)
top left: blanket before washing; top right: blanket after washing; bottom left: hat before construction; bottom right: finished hat on cutie model

The Things that I Think of

2008-02-16T14:15:00.003+10:00

Still working on my finger callouses, but I won't be able to take my first lesson until after the start of March. I've been trying to tune my ukulele, but it just doesn't sound quite right. I might just be too much of a perfectionist, but the sound that I'm trying to get seems to be inbetween where it is and where it goes when I tweak the tension just a smidge tighter. It's maddening. What I need is an actual ukulele that's already tuned to be played so I can hear the notes and then tune mine. I can only find small tracks online of the notes and they don't sound like anything that I can make with my strings. I even tried using the piano on Garageband and playing the same C note over and over again to get the third string tuned, but it never sounds right. It always sounds a bit too high or a bit too low. Arghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
I bought a few skeins of yarn this week that I'm really excited about. One is a Colinette fingering weight in Salty Dog ( a medium blue that is just so gorgeous I knew I had to make a pair of socks for myself and hopefully have enough left to knit a pair for my boy). I love the color and the name was so great I had to buy it. Just HAD to. I also picked up 12 balls of Rowan Cashsoft for the Jess Gansey pattern featured in Interweave Knits (the actual pattern is found on their website for free). It's a really nice pattern using a fingering weight on really tiny needles. I'll be done with it in about ten years and then I'll give it to my mom (ha ha ha). Hope it doesn't take that long to finish. I also have to look and find yarn to start my Buffyknits project. I was going to start with the hot pink mock boat neck sweater that Buffy sports in one episode (I'll look through my DVD's and find the actual episode so you can see the one that I'm talking about), but with everything else that I'm trying to get done I'm thinking a chunky knit would be a better jumping off point. There are several to choose from from the fourth and fifth seasons. There's a beautiful brown sweater knit in chunky stockinette and a grey tweed with shots of garter stitch worked intermittently though a stockinette. The choices are limitless and with me starting with a size small enough to fit a six year old will make it all go faster (although with a chunky knit I might just go ahead and size for an adult.....my skinny friend comes to mind.....she'll need sweaters once she moves back to Michigan or Washington).
Where to go next has been a topic of conversation as of late. We've been here in Guam for over a year now and have two more to go. I would stay here if I could import all of my family that I miss or if it was easier (and cheaper) to go and visit all my family. The weather here beats out every place that I've ever been. It gets hot some days, but the percentage of beautiful days can't be beat (unless you live in Hawaii). We're thinking of San Diego, but talk has also drifted to Spain, Italy or Florida. When I think of a place to live, ultimately the first thing that I think of is " What is the probability that someone will nuke this place?"
I don't know why, maybe too much Jericho and Sarah Conner Chronicles (although it was something I though of before then). The second thing I think of are all the natural disasters that can occur and the probability of them. Once a place has been deemed safe (ish) then it's given the thumbs up. San Diego is the first place I think of when thinking of the first place an enemy would nuke, but the weather is nice and I have family that I want to spend time with there AND if given a choice I want to be incenerated immediately (at Disneyland while riding the Haunted Mansion, ha ha ha!) as opposed to trying to survive in the aftermath or getting radiation poisoning and dying a slow painful death. Besides, there are so many things to do around there that you can get in a lifetime of living in just a few years and that outweighs the nuclear halocaust that may be. These are the things that flit through my mind at odd times of the day. It's weird and quirky and my brain is always very matter of fact about it.

Do U Ukulele too?

2008-02-10T23:18:00.001+10:00

Another Valentine's gift was bestowed on me today. Actually I don't know if it's really a Valentine's gift or just one of those things that he's been wanting to get me for awhile now and just got around to it today because we were in the store. Anyways, it's a little ukulele from JB's Ukulele Hut. I got the smallest (and I think cheapest) one that they had. The premise here being that I can learn on a little one and then upgrade to a bigger one if it proves to be a genuine interest and then pass the little one onto my daughter who seems keen (at this moment in time) to learn how to play as well. If not then I'm not out as much money as I would have been and I can still pass it on to my little ones. You get a free hour lesson with your purchase and then you can buy more lessons (three months worth for $60 a month/ once a week for 30 minutes each). Right now I'm getting my fingers conditioned by holding down the strings as if I am playing and I'm trying out strumming to a rhythm although all my "songs" sound like crud because I can't seem to get the darn thing tuned. I'm sure that I'll learn, but for right now it is the bane of my existence. I have a guitar as well (one that is a bit on the big side for me) and I'm hoping that learning the ukulele will spark a reinterest in learning the guitar. The interest has always been there, there was just the lack of lessons and the frustration of not having someone to show me how. I can't seem to pick it up from a book like I can other things (namely knitting and other crafts).
I really like my little ukulele and I'm hoping to learn how to play Somewhere Over the Rainbow on it. You know the song that I'm talking about, done Hawaiian style by the guy whose name I could never hope to pronounce, much less actually try to spell right now. The hubby seemed excited about the purchase as well and already has tales of me cutting a CD a year from now after I get my more expensive ukulele upgrade. He has our daughter living in Hawaii, playing to millions, and inviting us to vacation with her for months out of the year. It's nice to have dreams ;-)

Watch this

2008-02-09T22:53:00.001+10:00

Happy Chinese New Year! I know I'm a couple days late, but they don't stop celebrations until the 15th when they have the dragon dance. I had to give a shout out because it's a big deal here being so close to China. The year of the Rat is upon us. I don't know exactly what that means, but I do know that my mom, my son and I all share the same Chinese animal. We're all monkeys! My daughter was very pleased to find that she was born in the year of the horse (horses are her favorite animal) and my hubby is a tiger. By the way mom, a pair of your socks that I'm knitting are from a pattern named Monkey. Fitting I thought. They're a pretty lace patterned sock that can be found by going to www.knitty.com and clicking on archives then on socks and then on Monkey. Now you can see what one pair will look like. I thought they were very pretty and I hope that you like them too.
We're all recovering from strep throat and are almost finished with our ten day regimines of antibiotics. I will be very glad when we are. I just found out that they opened a Mommy and me section to the gym last month which means that I can go there with my son and put him in a room to play while I work out. Before no one under the age of ten was allowed in the gym and they didn't offer any type of daycare so if you were a stay at home mom they wanted you to stay at home and work out too I guess. I'm going to start this week and go from there. My friend said that she would go with me, but even if she doesn't I'll be up there everyday ellipticalling my butt off (literally I hope). In my CT they found a calcification in my right kidney, but luckily it wasn't big enough to cause any problems. That has prompted me to drink 2-3 liters of water/liquid a day to keep from getting a kidney stone (I've had gall stones and I've heard they're similar on the pain scale and I'm not going there again!!!). So that will make me ready for all the sweating that I'm going to be doing. I'm hydrated and ready to go. I know from past experience that my diet will fall in line the more exercise that I do. Something about exercising makes me crave veggies and good for me foods and also makes me tend to eat less. It's a blessing that I'll take.
Valentine's came early for me. My hubby bought me a beautiful watch from the GFS downtown that was $80. I only put the price down because it's a big deal to me. I've never had an $80 watch before and it blows my mind and I'm so scared of scratching it. When I was a kid a watch was too expensive unless you got it out of a cereal box or with your meal in the drive thru. It was one of the cheapest watches there (I'm thrifty and it hurt me to watch him drop even that on a watch) as we were surrounded by Armani, Seiko, and Tag Haeur (?sp). There was a Tiffany's a few stores down as well as Chanel, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, and all the other big names that you would normally have to pass by a guard who has to swipe you credit card before you can even get into the place. The DFS is a big name mall with duty free shopping (DFS....... get it?) for all the Japanese tourists to spend their money. Down the street there is a row that I imagine Fifth Ave looks like and those are the actual stores where they do check your credit before they allow you to enter. Want a $10000 handbag from a big name designer? You can find it at the DFS. Want and Armani suit custom fitted, $50 chocolates, $1000 bottle of Henessey, and the most numbers that you've ever seen put on a price tag for a watch or charm for a charm bracelet? Then go to the DFS. You can find some deals and most things are in the under $100 range (but then again I'm smart enough not to walk into Tiffany's and the handbag shops so I stick to the cosmetic counters). My watch is a cheapo, by these standards so it makes me feel a little better and at the same time I feel very pampered and ritzy as I watch my new watch sparkle on my wrist. It's so purdy!!!!! (Picture will soon follow)

Aerobic Sleep

2008-01-28T02:12:00.000+10:00

Sleep eludes me once again. I laid down at seven and slept for two hours before waking (with my heart pounding) and I have yet to be able to get back to sleep. I have my test results tomorrow and I'm nervous, but not for the reasons you would think. I'm more scared that I'll go in there and they'll say that they found nothing and that there's nothing wrong. A confirmation of my insanity. I just don't like not knowing because there's nothing I can do while in the proverbial dark. I just have to wait and I'm not the waiting type. I need to do something..... busy myself..... otherwise the time drags on..... and on..... and on.....AND ON!!! My original appointment was for the 23rd, but it was rescheduled by the doctor (his wife was having a baby that week) for the 28th leaving me to wait five more days........ IN AGONY!!!!! My hubby also leaves tomorrow with the ship and will get home right before the Super Bowl.
The hubs and I hit the tennis court today and I think I've found the perfect sport for me. I've always reveled in hunting flies with the fly swatter. I specialize in smacking them down mid flight. Just like tennis. I have to work on my accuracy and power though. I kept hitting it over the fence. All of my returns were out of bounds, but in response to the accuracy, it was very windy today and kept throwing the ball off course. I had the wind to my back so that might have made my returns fly a little farther as well. I ran back and forth after the ball and spent a lot of time laughing (because I kept missing). I would have had more hustle, but I was wearing pink Crocs (which tend to slip under your feet when you start sweating) so next time I'll be sure to strap on the tennis shoes.

Knit and Sail

2008-01-27T10:03:00.000+10:00

I found a Buffy knits KAL. I was going to knit a sweater at a time and post on my blog, but I might join this knit a long. So far it just looks like people are making up or using patterns that fit the characters and then giving them names to Buffize them. I'm more interested in recreating the actual sweaters that they wore on the show. One person has actually done that with the Initiative sweater (kudos to them) and I hope to continue with Buffy's cotton candy boat mock neck sweater from season four. After that I want to do Willow's yellow and orange overlay from the Thanksgiving episode in season four. I've started mapping out the stripes (which is hard when someone keeps moving and you never get a complete view of the whole sweater). I'm going to make them for my daughter first which will insure that I won't need as much yarn and it will take less time. From there I can size everything up. If I get halfway through a sweater for her and then have to rip it, it's not as bad as if I have to rip out a sweater for myself since my daughter's only five and a very skinny little kid.
I'm still plugging away at all the socks that were supposed to be done by Christmas. I had sock burnout and had to stop for a week, but I think that I'm ready to continue. I still have yet to get a pair done. I have three out of eight socks done (one of which will be ripped and reknit because the heel is different..... so really I only have two and they're both from different pairs). I also still owe my mom socks from her birthday (which was in before Christmas) and a pair for Christmas. I have one of her socks done, but the ankle is a little too short. I wonder if I can unravel the first round, pick up stitches, and add onto the cuff without it looking "off". I can only try and if it doesn't work then I'll be forced to rip the whole sock and start over (which I really don't want to have to do). I am a FROG. Rip-it, rip-it!!!! Once I get all these socks done then I can get the rest of the projects that I started before the holidays done, one of which is a cardigan for myself. There's a lot of things that I want to get done and if I would just sit down and do them they would be done already. I've been spending most of my time sleeping because of stomach pain. It starts hurting and I lay down on my right side so that it doesn't hurt as much and then I fall asleep.
I started taking my Addyrall again. I think it was the five pounds that I gained this week. I've been off of it for three weeks and haven't gained anything back, but I was noticing that I was hungry on a massive scale and never seemed to get full. I don't know if that's back lash from coming off the Addyrall or if it's the birth control. Probably a little of both. On the Addyrall I lose weight without having to try, but I also don't eat. I have to force myself to eat two or three bites at each meal so that I don't burn out after a week from starvation. The Addyrall also raises my body temperature. I get HOT when I've taken it, but it helps me concentrate and helps with my fatigue so that I can get through my day without needing a nap, plus I get back on a regular sleep schedule. It helps me out all around..... at least for the first week or so. After that I think it builds in my system and gets to be too much so I have to take a week off to rehydrate, fuel back up on food and get more sleep (it starts to screw up my sleep to where I have trouble going to sleep). Maybe taking it every other day would work.
Anyways, onto knitting and hopefully taking up a few sports here soon. I'd like to start hitting the gym and maybe do some kite boarding and scuba diving. I want to at least get scuba certified before leaving the island. This place is also great for kite boarding because we get some great wind, but it can be dangerous. If you get a big up draft you can get lifted really high and then smack down.....hard. We had one guy die on the pacific side of the island and several people have gotten hurt. I also want to take my kids fishing. They want to ride on a boat and I want to catch a fish with them. Little fish that they can reel in...... not Marlins and Mahis. I wonder how long they'll be on the boat before they get bored? I would also like to learn how to sail and maybe get certified. You can take classes to become a captain , but enough certification to sail would be enough for me. I already kind of know how to because my dad takes me sailing when I go and visit him and I've always loved that. I'm in charge of the jib line, I get to run from one side of the boat to the other, dodging the main sail as it swings to the other side, and pull the jib line nice and tight and securing it. I've always taken it seriously. To be honest our boat is so small that you can sit at the rudder and grab the jib line to tighten from where you're sitting (meaning it really only takes one person), but that's the job I am charged with when we sail and I do my job. We've had a bigger boat where I actually did have to run from one side to the other to pull the jib tight. That was really fun.

What a Wonderful World over the Rainbow

2008-01-10T12:56:00.000+10:00

Still feeling good today, which is a big deal. I think the last few days of realizing what was bugging me was key. I've known since right after Thanksgiving that I was dragging from something emotionally, but couldn't define it. I feel free and clear now, but I'm also wondering how long it's going to last. I'm going to enjoy it until it's gone and hope that it never goes away.
Big news out of our camp. We had a trip to the ER last night. My eldest cracked her chin on a curb while we were leaving her school. I took her to the school nurse because I didn't have anything clean to press on it to stop the bleeding. It was very obvious that it was going to need stitches as soon as she lifted her head because a piece of her chin was hanging down like someone had grabbed it and tried to rip it from her face. The nurse patched her with steri- strips and some gauze to help stop the bleeding until we could get to the ER. I figured it would stop the bleeding, but once we arrived at the ER I turned to look at her and there was blood coming through the other side of the gauze. They stitched her with three stitches. The hardest part was numbing her for the stitches. They had to wrap her like a burrito. She didn't like the feel of the lidocaine (it does burn quite a bit AND they were poking her where it was open..... tell me who likes that), but she was quiet and still for the actual stitching (I thought she had passed out). It was still bleeding a little this morning and I'm hoping it doesn't get infected and heals like it's supposed to. The wound was never irrigated, but it was bleeding good and blood is your body's natural irrigation. She's only five so I think she did really good. My son is the one that jumps off of everything and bounces all over the place like he's trying to hurt himself and has never needed stitches. This is number two for my girl (last time was the chin too and she got liquid stitches that time so it wasn't as bad).
It's raining here today. ALOT. I woke at 3 in the morning to really loud thunder. After awhile I thought maybe the navy was bombing something because it was so loud, but I didn't see any lightening. One little fact about Guam is that we have a rainbow here almost everyday (at least every other day). Sometimes they look so close that you swear if you keep driving/ walking that you'll make it to the end of it. I saw one that looked like it ended in a parking lot in front of me. One end always touches land and the other goes off out to sea. Are we really somewhere over the rainbow? :-)

Revelations

2008-01-09T12:27:00.000+10:00

Everyone is going to have to wait until next year to receive their ornaments. I was going to send them out, but when I got to thinking about it I figured that everyone has put away their Christmas by now (or will before my gifts get there) and then they'll either have to take boxes back out to put them away OR they'll get set aside and misplaced before next Christmas. At least everything will be done before Christmas and I won't have to worry about it next year except for the shipping (which I can do early!!!!).
I'm still plugging away on the socks that I promised my sisters and dad. I'm waiting on a reply for color preferences before finishing the toes (in case I need to change the length). The first sock that I finished will have to be redone because I decided to go with the short row heel with the subsequent socks instead of the slip stitch reinforced heel (mainly because it's a new technique and I think it looks more like a sock you would buy). I finished one of my mom's socks, but that's going to have to be redone as well because it's too low on the ankle (an uncomfortable low..... for me anyways). Just a few more rows will fix that and I'm debating on whether I should pick up stitches around the cuff and add on inches or not. I also saw this method where you unravel the cast on and pick up the loose stitches and knit and there's no difference (not much at least). I may try that method and if it doesn't work then I'll be kissing the frog.
Anyone reading my blog knows I've been sick for awhile now (this is the revelation part). I'm scheduled for a CT on the 17th and to put it bluntly I'm scared s__tless. Not something that I'm able to admit readily. It's easier telling it to an unassuming computer screen. It has brought forth a whole bunch of issues that I find myself in need of dealing with now, partly because I think that most of my physical illness is caused by the emotional. Panic attacks run in my family and my life growing up would have brought out an anxiety disorder anyways. I've been an evil bear the past few weeks to everyone close to me and have come to realize it's because I'm scared. There's the possibility that I suffer from PTSD, something that I have thought in the past but dismissed. It makes sense because I did witness my mom almost dying at least three times and in all instances there are parts where I can't remember what happened. Those parts of the memories all have similarities because I was alone, but I can't remember what I did, thought or felt during that time..... at all. It's weird to realize that you have a hole in a memory that's otherwise clear as crystal in all other areas. That's a symptom of PTSD that I dismissed because I was sure that I remembered everything clearly until I was asked to actually do so. I also figured that I had been to so many mental health professionals growing up (to deal with sexual abuse) that they would have diagnosed me a long time ago. I am optimistic that now that I know what is wrong I can work through it on my own, but I am still going to seek a professional to confirm. Especially since I think the emotional may be causing my physical illnesses. I want to cover all my bases. It might be that I actually have something physically wrong,and in that event I'll need help dealing anyways so I'm covering my booty. I'm also at a point where if I have to take something until I get to a clear patch and can deal without taking it out on other people then I will and not be embarrassed about it. I just know that I can't keep letting it get worse. I was able to talk to my mom about a few things this morning and I feel so much better then I have felt in a long while. There are things that I feel guilty about, things that I'm angry about (and feel guilty about being angry about), and things that I'm sad about (which has resulted in an almost constant state of mourning). I know in my heart that I'm strong and that's it's taken me ten years to reach a breaking point without actually breaking. I see a crack in my foundation and am moving to repair it now before it breaks apart and brings down my house. I've noticed these cracks before and have been able to patch it myself but now it's time to call in a contractor (to complete my analogy). I need something in order to be able to move forward. I have all these ideas and dreams that I never act on because I don't want to compromise my responsibilities to other people, but I need to learn that I can do both. I know it, but I need to feel it. That's my big lightbulb moment for this year....... possibly the decade. Maybe this can help someone else struggling with the same kinds of things or I may just be typing to myself. Either way it's all good.

No time to say "Hello. Goodbye".......

2007-12-28T15:18:00.000+10:00

I'm late (as always..... I excel in that area) sending all my Christmas gifts. I'm still cranking out sweaters for my Dad. The sweaters for Grandma and Co. were finished before Christmas, but I neglected to send them out, mainly because it involved going to the post office. I'm no good with standing in lines right now (being sick and all) and am trying to devise a plan to figure out how many stamps will be needed for this package. I don't think you can even do that anymore, but if all else fails I'll send hubby to the post office with the packages. The baby blanket is being revised. It's finished except for putting fleece on the back (obviously my weaving in technique leaves something to be desired). Once finished I couldn't stomach all the little tails left on the back and figured a piece of fleece will hide it all nicely with a blanket stitch and personalization to liven things up.
I'm thinking about getting yarn to make stockings for next year for the kids so that they can have special stockings that are all their own. After reading the dying techniques on Knitty I'm excited to give Kool-Aid a whirl. It'll make just the right colors. I'm frantically looking for the extra skein of bare DK that I have somewhere. I'm thinking about banging out a hat for my other nephew before sending out the package with the baby blanket. Still working like mad on the socks and trying to get them done before it's soooooooo past Christmas that they don't even qualify as Christmas gifts anymore (I think I may already be at that point). As soon as I'm done with all that I will start my gifts for next year. I'm going to have to if I want them done and shipped by Christmas. I suck.

Snow on Guam

2007-12-19T14:52:00.001+10:00

The seasonal snow has arrived at all the malls. We've spent many a night there so the kids can dance in it. We've done the Santa thing and all the shopping is done. The Christmas tree looks great even if my house is really dirty. So sad. It's really, really dirty. I've been sick since Thanksgiving (yes, still) and I've been trying to keep up with everything, but have been failing miserably. I don't like it and it just makes me feel sicker..... if that makes any sense. I was feeling okay yesterday and was primed to clean house today, but when I got up this morning I was struck down again. I was able to clean a little last night and I am grateful for that. I go back to the doctor on Friday and I am going to request that CT that she has offered on several occasions only to have me talk myself out of it. I'm not allowed to talk myself out of it this time. Hopefully they can schedule it soon and find nothing so that I can stop worrying about it. That's why I have talked myself out of it....... because I'm afraid of what they'll find, but if they find nothing the question then becomes..... well what is wrong? I like to think it's all in my head. Close your eyes and pretend it's all a bad dream...... that's how I get by (thank you, Jack).

In other news I finished all my little sweaters (here are some of them) and I'm almost done whip stitching the baby blanket together and then I can send it off tomorrow (hope they like it). Oh yeah, I forgot to tell about the cool ornament that I found. My hubby was looking at Precious Moments (he's a collector) and I looked over and saw this little beauty. I squealed and jumped up and down and did the happy dance in front of several people. "She's knitting.... look she's knitting with her little knitting needles! That's so mine!" I cried and immediately carried my little knitter to the register and bought her.

Knitting Update

2007-12-02T11:38:00.001+10:00

I have been knitting my butt off. Well.... my arms. At least I was until I got sick, even then I was still trying to knit between bathroom runs (that sounds worse then I thought it would and is a bad pun). Ah, well..... fact of life, everyone gets sick from time to time. I've been sick for seven days! I'm feeling better and only have been feeling sick later in the day, but now I have a swollen lymph node in my underarm and it's bad enough that I'm typing with only my left hand because my right arm is painful and useless. It feels like it's starting to get better though and I'm hoping to resume knitting. All my knitting probably made it worse because my arms were sore to begin with. Anyways. I'm working on several things at once and the fear is creeping in because I'm pretty sure I have bitten off more then I can chew. That and my husband bestowed a gift on me that is the bane of knitting. A Nintendo DS.

I must admit I've been trying harder to get Link to the end of the Phantom Hourglass game then I have been trying to get everything done. I also bought a book. I Am Legend. I didn't even know it was a book until I was searching on iTunes and happened to see it in the audiobooks section. The preview grabbed my attention and I would have bought the audiobook, but I thought I could read it faster. Maybe I should have bought the audiobook because I could have listened to it while knitting, but I love reading and it seemed like such a lazy cheat to listen to it. It's just not the same as a book in your hands and the adventure in the words on the page that you get lost in.
The gifts that I have on my list are 10-12 mini sweater ornaments, 6 pairs of socks and one baby blanket. The socks are proving to be the most time consuming. In the two weeks since I got my yarn I have only finished one sock and am halfway through a second one (that doesn't match.... it's a different pair). I have spent most of my time working on the baby blanket. It's is the Circle of Friends baby blanket from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by the owner of PurlSoho (a great book to have.... lots of good things to knit).

I hand dyed the yarn myself because I couldn't afford the 14 skeins of Rowan Wool Cotton. Instead I went with KnitPIcks Bare DK weight superwash merino wool and the Jaquard Acid Dyes that they also sell. It was easier then I thought it would be and I only have one skein that didn't come out the way I really wanted, but it will work. I also decided to go with blue instead of the two purples that they use (in fact it's the light blue skein that was less then up to par). A few of the skeins are variegated, but I'm okay with that because it gives it a handmade look. If you like the variegations in hand dyed yarns then you know where I'm coming from. The orange came out variegated as well as the maroon, but I had to mix brown and red for that one and there are a few spots the red grabbed stronger then the brown. The orange is a single powder (no mixing needed), but for whatever reason came out variegated. Maybe I'll presoak my yarn a little longer and squeeze more to remove the bubbles and see if that works better next time around. The light blue came out variegated too, but I was using the same dye as for the dark blue and used just 1/4 of a tsp to try and make it lighter, but then it started looking dark so I pulled it. Where the yarn was tied with string there are sections of really light blue and a little white. I had another skein that I could have used and tried again, but decided I could be happy with what I have (stop being such a perfectionist..... I'm trying). I have three and a half out of seven panels done and am confident I will finish before deadline to ship.
The socks...... are a different story. All the sock are from Charmed Knits: Projects for fans of Harry Potter by Alison Hansel and are the House Socks. I'm doing the narrow stripes version and am doing one pair of each of the four houses. Another pair follows Harry's Sock from Dobby's collection (starting on pg.100). I like this sock because it's the first time I've made a hell like this one. It requires wrapping to form the heel instead of the sl1, K1 then pick up and K heel that I'm used to doing. A little more challenging, but the end result is a little cleaner and more like the socks you buy.
The last are the mini sweater ornaments which I'm taking the pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, but for a set I'm doing them in the colors and with the lettering of the Weasley Sweaters from Charmed Knits. Those are really quick knits that I can finish all in a day or two so my only real concerns are the socks, but I have resolved that if I can't finish them in time that everyone will get the mini sweaters for Christmas and I'll send the socks later. So not a real big emergency, but it would be nice to be able to give the socks on Christmas.

Why Life is Unfair

2007-11-15T13:44:00.000+10:00

Because the only son of a single mother gets Hodgkin's disease. It was found only because they did a routine blood test for WIC. It's already spread to his spleen, liver and one lung. He's only one and a half. That puts me in mind to only have two words for cancer....... but I can't put them here because my grandma reads this blog.

Taming of the Shrew

2007-11-09T13:29:00.000+10:00

I was watching reruns of Angel at around midnight when I heard this loud screeching noise. I thought the cat was trying to scale one of the windows with her claws, but then it continued until it became this eery sound that seemed to be unnatural. I went to investigate with knitting needle in one hand (makes a handy weapon in a pinch) and a phone in the other. My cat was at the base of the stairs interested in whatever was making the sound and as I reached the bottom of the stairs I saw whatever it was had a tail. I assumed she had cornered a gecko and it was now chirping its little head off out of fright. I shooed the cat away and moved my daughter's backpack and there was this smell and I saw something furry. Not a gecko!!! I had a rat as pet growing up as well as mice, gerbils and the like so it didn't scare me, but I was startled to find something other then a gecko in my house (I was however very grateful that it wasn't a cockroach or some hideous bug). It was kind of stinky so I thought maybe a muskrat, but it was mouse size and had a pointy nose and small almost nonexistent eyes. I opened the front door (which it just happened to be near) and shooed it out with a broom. It shot straight outside, much to my relief and amazement. Very delighted that I didn't have to chase a scurrying creature around trying to get it out the front door. Talking to other people and looking on the internet led me to the Musk Shrew. Musk obviously explains the smell and I found out that they use echolocation like bats and dolphins, hence the high pitched eery screeching noise. After going to bed I heard another chirp later. I'm hoping there's not a nest down there in that pile of things that I need to pick up. It's right at the front door where we dump everything and I clean it about once every two weeks so it couldn't have been there long if it has set up a nest. I just hope that it hasn't. I'm scared I'm going to find baby shrews and then I'll feel guilt for chasing off their mommy. It was that or the cat was going to dispose of her and I don't need to find tiny, furry dead mammals in my home left as presents by my kitty kitty. How did it get in is the question so that I can keep more from entering. It may have just snuck inside the door along with us or it came in through a hole. No reason to worry though unless I start seeing more of them. They sure are loud little things, I'll give them that. And stinky too. If I was the cat I wouldn't have messed with it after it started letting off that smell. It wasn't that bad, but I'm considerably bigger and wasn't down on it's level. I'm sure it's more pungent to a cat or other predator.
Hubby comes home today!!!! The boat pulled in this morning around 10, but, of course, they won't let anyone go because they have to muster first....... for 14 hours. I hate this command. If you are thinking of joining the ranks of the Frank Cable, just don't. It might be fine if you're a single sailor, but if you have a family and especially if you are in engineering, JUST DON'T. We've been here almost a year and my hubby just started getting his weekends off. Most of the time he would only get Sunday off (unless he had duty) and during the weekday he leaves at 5-6 in the morning and doesn't get home until after 8 pm most nights. Which would be fine if the US Navy paid overtime because we'd be swimming in money and I would have no complaints. The kids hardly ever get to spend time with daddy and if they get little time I get even less. The CO wonders why the divorce rate on the Cable is so high, well there's your problem. Better organization and leadership is needed and being able to eat meal is a RIGHT not a PRIVILEGE as the higher ups would like you to believe. No use in complaining. There's even a rumor floating around that a wife complained and her husband was given more hours. They also say that the Captain (not our current one) was responsible for the boiler explosion that took two lives last year because he gave the order to light anyways (even though someone said there was a leak) because there was a delegate onboard. Everyone has their conspiracy theories, but there's that chance that it could be true. Who knows, I might get my hubby in trouble just by writing this..... if I thought anyone actually read my blog. Really people, you can leave comments. It's okay.

Holiday Season

2007-11-06T09:41:00.000+10:00

I'm gearing up for it. As an adult it's just not the same as it was when I was a kid. The excitement is almost all gone. The only thing that I can think of when I look ahead to putting up the tree is how much work it's going to be and the hassle of taking it down. I think I should just throw myself into it and do all the decorating, baking and other activities that my mom and I used to do. A lot of the non excitement comes from the fact that we won't see family this year. I get excited and in the mood to make and bake when I know that family is coming. We're having friends for Thanksgiving and that has my brain clicking along about what I'm going to make, how the house is going to look and all that jazz. Christmas..... not so much, but I'm trying. The kids and I made snowflakes for their Christmas tree yesterday. Twenty total. I have also been looking into other projects as well. I have a whole load of knitting to do. This past payday saw me spending almost $100 on yarn. Not really a big deal since I'm going to get about 20 gifts out of it all and I am completely out of yarn. I know there are other knitters out there who spend more then that every month and I haven't bought any yarn for several months now. I am excited about that. Waiting for a package of yarn is always exciting. I have another order that I have to place and have sent for my sister in law. I'm very excited because she's having a baby. This will be her first baby, but it's not her first pregnancy so this is a really big deal. When I met my hubby she was pregnant and she lost the baby at about 5-6 months. She was pregnant again about a year later and again she went into labor early. She had to watch as her son struggled for breath and then he passed on when they tried to give him oxygen. His lungs weren't strong enough and collapsed. I always felt really bad because both times I got pregnant soon after and had two healthy babies. I might as well have kicked her in the stomach while she was down. And I can't imagine how much it must have hurt to lose those babies. Luckily no problems with this pregnancy and she's almost ready to have him and we're all excited. Hubby was looking for baby gifts before he left and when I got to thinking about it I realized I could make something. After running it by him he seems excited about it and now I need to buy more yarn. Not a big deal, but to be honest I don't know exactly when she's due and I want to have it done in time for her to welcome the little one home with. I'll be making a blankie and hopefully some socks, a hat, and a teddy bear. The big question is should I make it white or different colors. One hides stains and the other you could bleach or set out in the sun if it got a stain on it. Knowing baby stains I'm inclined to go with color because formula stains don't like to bleach out. Sigh. I'll figure it out :-)

Halloween and Disney

2007-10-22T08:28:00.000+10:00

A few weeks ago my kids got their Halloween costumes and I let them try them on. Of course they have been begging me ever since to let them wear them. Charlie chose the Incredibles as his costume and Lola settled on Jasmine as her final choice. They both look cute, but Charlie looks especially cute in his. He runs around pretending that he's shooting beams from his hands and is ready to "rescue" mommy from the evil Serabi (our cat who is not as keen on the whole imagination thing).
Last week I broke down and cut off my hair. It was down past my shoulder blades, but it's so darn hot and humid here that it was impossible to do anything other then stick it in a ponytail. Actually a half ponytail where you pull it through only halfway so that the ends are still caught in the elastic. I was prepared to GI Jane my hair off in my own bathroom but the hubby said no to the idea so I found myself at the hair dressers. I got a layered bob that's just below my ears. Quite a bit shorter then it was and a shock for all the people here that have never seen me with short hair before. It caused quite a stir. At least it was the good kind. I got a lot of squeals and "Oh, it's sooooooooo cute. I'm going to do that with my hair." No, really. Please don't, thank you. I like the fact that I'm different then the rest of the mommy's that come to pick their kids up. Good thing they don't really have the stones to actually get their hair chopped off. Charlie got in my lap several times last week and said "I like your hair mommy. It's so pretty" as he would run his hands over my new short do.
Hubby left on a cruise last week to Japan. He was excited because they had told everyone that they would get liberty to site see around Tokyo. I've been wanting to go to Tokyo since we got out here. I figure since we're out here we might as well go because it'll never be cheaper. I always touted it as a good vacation for all of us because we could take the kids to Tokyo Disneyland. The hubby kept saying that he wasn't sure that he really wanted to go to Tokyo Disney because it's not the same as Disney World, but as soon as he was going to Tokyo with work all of a sudden he's excited and wanting to go to Disney. So much so that as soon as they got there the higher ups announced a whole load of drills and instruction time that would take up their liberty and so now the hubby's "really mad" that he's not going to get to go to Disney. What a turd. All this time he hasn't shown a bit of interest in all my talk of Disney in Tokyo but as soon as he gets to go he's talking all about it like it was the best idea HE ever had. I still love him though and figure that this will be a good opportunity because then when we all go then at least one of us will already be familiar with the way things are there.

Talofofo Falls

2007-10-04T10:12:00.001+10:00

I know I took longer then I had said that I would on posting pictures, but here they are in full, beautiful color. Our trip to Talofofo. For anyone that has never been (I'm guessing that's a large majority of earth's population since most people don't even know that a place called Guam even exists) Talofofo Park is a small place. I would say that we wasted $25 seeing as we were only there for about thirty minutes, but the train and cave were closed (I'm guessing it's off season at the park) and the beauty was well worth the money as was the cute dog that traveled with us in our cable car, Puppy (no really that was her name). She rode with us both there and back. I don't know why she chose to ride with us, but it kind of makes you feel special.

Talofofo Park contains what else but the Talofofo Falls. As you ride in the cable car you reach a point where the land falls away and you are greeted by a beautiful vista of jungle and falls.

The cable car takes you down to the #1 Falls where you follow a slippery rock trail down to #2 Falls. The scenery is beautiful and you feel as if you are on an excursion through an Asian forest..... minus the animals.

You then cross a wobbly bridge reminescent of Indiana Jones and hike up a hill (steep) to the Guam History Museum.

From there you can hike to Yokoi's Cave (although we weren't aware of that at the time and missed out on seeing it) or take the small seat tram to the cave. Yokoi was a Japanese soilder who hide after the US showed up on Guam to liberate it during World War II. He was there with two other soilders and they lived there for several years. Both of the other men died and Yokoi was left alone there in hiding under the belief that the war was still going on and in fear of becoming a POW. He stayed in there from the time World War II was over in 1944 until he was discovered in the 1970's (I think it was 1971).Twenty something years living in a cave. That takes determination...... of not getting caught. I believe that the cave in the park is actually a replica of the original and not the actual site where Yokoi and his two comrades hid out.
From the Museum you can walk a little ways up and you come to #1 Falls which has a lagoon that was rumoured a good swimming hole, but we saw a sign stating no swimming. We saw pictures of people swimming in there back when they dedicated the cave for Yokoi, but it seems today that swimming is no longer permitted. We don't know why.
Another wobbly bridge brings you two tiny alcoves that house many Buddha statues. The first one has a medium sized Buddha surrounded by many tiny Buddhas. The second has a slightly larger Buddha surrounded again by tinier Buddhas. There is a lot of coinage in there so I'm guessing Japanese and other Asian or Buddhist tourists throw coins in there for good luck or to have a prayer granted.
Climb up another slippery rock slope and you are back at the cable car to take the ride back up to the entrance. At the entrance there is a train that is open most days to ride around the park (it was closed when we went) as well as a haunted house (that also seemed to be closed). We went on a Saturday and fully expected everything to be open, but tourist season is probably over with the recent start of school and ending of the summer. It'll pick back up around Christmas time when all the Asian travelers look to escape the cooler climate.
We had fun but would have gotten more of our money's worth if everything had been open. At least we got the discounted rate reserved for those who are in the military and locals which is half of the actual price. Although I must say that there are plenty of places that share the same beauty here on island and are free or at least as close to free as you can get. A guided Boonie Stomp only costs $2 to go on and after 10 of them you get a free Parks and Recreation Boonie Stomping tee shirt. You can take the hikes on your own for free, but for two dollars it's worth it to travel with a group and have an experienced guide to point things out to you. It's just about the only thing on island that's a steal. The only other that I can think of would be the Chamorran Village on Wednesday night. It's such a big event that the locals come every Wednesday to ride th canival rides, check out the market shops and kiosks and to get the second best deal on Guam, barbeque. All the best barbeque vendors cme to the Village every Wednesday night and cook up some really great food. You get three side which can vary from vendor to vendor but usually include local favorite, red rice, Philipino pancit and any number of vegetables. You can walk away with a huge plate that will feed you for a few meals for only $6. Also walking around the Village you can meet all kinds of people from all over Asia as well as mingle with the locals who are very hospitable and love to share their culture. My friend Amanda and I went out one night and were offered a sampling of Sweet Tube (normally $1 a glass). I liked it but she didn't. It's a fermented drink made from the sap of the coconut tree. This particular concoction was only 1% alcohol because of the location of where it was sold. Beware other Sweet Tuba around the island as it can have a powerful kick. Only sample if you have a designated driver. For reals.
At the village there was also a fruit vendor. We were checking out what she had and we saw a strange spiny fruit. A man buying some explained to us that it was called Laguna in native Chamorran (I don't know if the spelling is right, but the pronuciation sounded like how I spelled it here) and that it was like their form of ice cream. He gave us one and told us to take it home and put it in the refrigerator overnight and then eat it the next day. It contains small black seeds (like a watermelon) that you have to pick out and is a little on the stringy side, but the taste is that of a slightly sour peach. A treat for anyone from the American south as there are few peaches (actually none) on island (that I have seen anyways).
Hmmmm. Reading this it sounds like a travel book. That's amusing and a little creepy.
:-)

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words, But I'll Try To Keep it To Less Than That

2007-09-28T15:22:00.001+10:00

I went out and bought a camera. I finally broke down and did it. I'm sure that I will find my other camera sometime later this week because that's how it goes. I have planned that if I find my other camera that my Hubby will inherit it so that he can take photos while he's out in Australia, Japan, Singapore, Russia, or any of these other places the ship takes him. I'm looking to get a new video camera for my next big purchase. I was just going to buy a new recharger (Hubby lost the one we had), but now they have all those video cameras that are digital where I can upload video straight from the camera AND you don't need DVDs or video tapes because it stores everything digitally. I need to try and get all my old home movies put onto one DVD (that's all I have for both of my kids...... 1 DVD worth) so that I can stop worrying about the enevitable destruction of the video tapes that will occur one day. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.
Anyways, back to the camera. So, photos will be posted sometime soon. In fact probably tomorrow since we are planning on going to Talofofo and that is a great oppourtunity for family photos as well as great scenic shots of Guam. Right now I just can't wait until my hubby gets home. The ship is in they just have to let him go (which probably will be right before I get ready to lay down for the night). I don't like this command and I don't know of anyone else on the ship that does either. I'm sure that the single sailor's enjoy it, but for those with families it has proven to be a living hell. They need more time off. Eighteen hour days, six days a week while in dock is just ridiculous AND when they get ready to go out to sea, my hubby has to leave a few days earlier to help them light off. While lighting off he's not allowed to come home so he's gone for a few days longer then everyone else's husband's. It stinks and then on top of that the last thing that he wants to do when he gets home is anything productive so he spends most of his time on the computer and not with the kids. I don't worry about myself, but the kids have not been able to spend good quality time with Daddy and that is sad. Sigh. Only a few more years and then we're out of here. I just keep telling myself that. Guam is great but the command........ not so much. Only a few more years..... only a few more years..... only a few more years...... there's no place like home.... there's no place like home.... there's no place like home.

Long Time, No Sea

2007-09-27T10:16:00.000+10:00

It's been a looooooong time since I last posted. It took me two weeks to heal from that sunburn and it just stopped itching last week. It's still red and scarred in some places. Lola started school so that has kept me busy with just having something to do during the day. She's a walker so we get to walk her to and from school everyday. Not always great because we seem to be in monsoon season here. It rains everyday and most of the time it's so hard you might as well be walking under a waterfall. You're out there two seconds and you're soaked through. It's pretty bad but also fun at the same time. My son has had plenty of fun splashing in puddles and getting completely soaked. I have to throw the clothes in the wash so that it can spin them dry enough to go into the dryer. Today is such a day which may be why I am lingering on the fact.
A trip to the doctor yesterday for a routine checkup and I find myself being put on meds for ADD again. As I filled out the evaluation form I had to laugh because all the things that I had written off as "mommy brain" was actually my ADD. I can't finish anything, I go into a room for something and instantly forget why I'm there at least four times a day and most of the time I can't find anything that I need because I can't remember where I put it to begin with. Sigh. I'm grateful that the doctor asked me if I wanted to go back on it because I know that it'll help me get my work done and give me the motivation that I've been lacking (the ability to follow through that I have also been lacking) and I might actually get back to work and/or to school. I'm also hopeful that it might help me lose weight because dieting and exercise are not doing anything. Six months of exercising everyday and watching what I eat and I swear my shorts are getting tighter. It makes no sense. And it's more frustrating then I could ever begin to tell you. I haven't really been knitting anything. Lack of funds has stopped me from being able to buy yarn, but I'm hoping to pick up some sock yarn and start on some things for Christmas. I want to send a few gifts home to family to let them know that I'm thinking of them, but all I can manage on these time constraints are small ornaments and socks. But they are really cute ornaments. Stockings and a tiny sweater as well as a whole set of Weasley sweater ornaments that I'm sending a group of people that will really get a kick out of them. Between now and Thanksgiving I'm going to buy some yarn here and some yarn there and finish out my projects so that I can mail them by the first of December all wrapped and ready for under the tree at their respective places. I hope everyone likes them. Hopefully I'll finish and remember to send them out. I've been really bad about remembering here lately. I forgot to call my dad on his birthday and then I felt guilt and still didn't call him. I forgot Father's Day too. I could make the excuse that it's the day difference but that doesn't seem like a good enough excuse, but I think that's what the problem is. I forget by the next day (most of the time I forget five minutes later).
I have been working on a diaper bag for my friend that will be felted and have a tiny Eeyore silhouette on it. Her baby's only two months old now ( I need to work faster) and she has four other diaper bags (good Lord how many do you need?) but I promised and this will be personalized. I have found that I am allergic to straight wool. I do okay with merino, but the little particles flying off the wool as I knit are making me sneeze and itch so I can only work on so much at a time before I have to set it aside for a few days. I plowed through a good chunk of it yesterday, but am paying the price today. I know some people break out on their hands and I'm glad I'm not one of those people, but I think I may have to lay off the wool from now on.
The Hubby is out to sea right now, but should be home by tomorrow. They're slotted to go out in October for a week and then go out again for almost a month right before Thanksgiving, although they may be gone for Thanksgiving as well. We wives have a plan to get together and fry a turkey and make all the fixings even if they aren't here, but if they are here we will spend time with our own families. They probably won't be here for Halloween either. Lola is going to be Jasmine and Charlie wants to be Dash. Charlie likes the going and getting candy part of Halloween, but he doesn't like all the decorations. Going to the commissary is always fun because they have these bags that are orange with faces that when you stuff them they are pumpkins. They have a bunch stuffed and hanging throughout the store. They also have a huge skeleton with a cape hanging in the frozen food section that send him into screams of terror everytime. Going to the Home Store is even better because they have those blow up lawn decorations that are huge. Charlie freaks out everytime. It's funny, but ridiculous at the same time and we're trying to explain to him that they aren't real. I think that ride on Haunted Mansion when we went to DisneyWorld a year and a half ago may have scarred him. I rented the movie and he watched it. I also got him to watch the DVD extras where they show the making of the film and he got to see that there were just skinny guys in the zombie suits. He walked around telling everyone that zombies aren't real and that they're just actors all day that day. I'm hoping that sticks in his head and he starts to realize that Halloween is just for fun.

Five Days and Counting

2007-08-15T23:49:00.000+10:00

Bad, bad week. The sunburn that I complained about last post is still very very red and very very painful. I finally had to go to the doctor and get something a little stronger then extra strength Tylenol just in order to get some sleep. Finally it seems to be taking a turn towards getting better. My legs are fine and were fine two days after the bur, but my back is what hurts. It not only hurts, but I found myself shivering 24/7 for the first two days and wanting to puke. Sleep was impossible and finding any position that was semi comfortable was also impossible. Last night it looked as though it was starting to blister. Thanks to the pain meds I was able to actually put on a shirt and go out in public. As I was standing in line at the NEX it felt like my neck was sweating and I ran my hand around the perimeter of my neck and then up to just under my ear when I felt fluid running down my neck and chest. What the heck was my first reaction and I pulled my hand away to find it covered in what looked like water. I gave my hubby a purplexed look and he checked me over and informed me that I had burst thousands of tiny blisters all around my neck. Sweet. I shrugged. After all it looked like water. We went to lunch and I started getting tiny shooting pains....... like someone was sticking my back with tiny needles...... and then started feeling something running down my back. That didn't look like water and so far I have messed up four shirts today. Gross. But the pain seems to have ebbed since so the blisters forming seem to have been the extension of my pain. Bad news is I have to go out tomorrow and I'm hoping I will have stopped oozing by then, but I don't think it's going to happen. Ah well. My own fault for not using sunscreen on my back. May you all learn from my mistake. I have never had a sunburn this bad and never will again unless I throw myself into a fire. I have learned my lesson thank you very much. I hope you have learned my lesson too........ because it was not only gross, but extremely painful as well.
In other news, I have started the Architect Scarf from Welcome to the Knit Cafe (one of my favorite books!). My mom mailed some yarn that I bought before leaving the states and had left at her house. Five different colors, one skien each.......... what am I going to do with them? Then I realized they were the same colors as those used in the Architect Scarf. They are bolder colors, but same color palette. Perfect! I love working a scarf on size 11 needles. Scarves are just satisfying in the fact that they work up fast and you really only need one to last you the rest of your life (so if I make you a scarf it should be the only scarf that you ever use again for the rest of your life.......... woooohahahahahahhha). I'm also using the rest of the linen/ cotton tape that I have left after making the blouson and am making a short sleeved shrug. It's just like the blouson except open in the front and worked back and forth. I'm supposed to be making a diaper bag for Amanda, but fear has halted my progress. I realized I have just enough to make the bag and not enough for a swatch to felt to see how much it shrinks. I think I'll just have to get over it and make sure that it's 3-5 inches bigger then what I think will work and hope for the best. If it doesn't shrink down that much then she'll just have a little bigger bag, but if it does then it'll be just right. I hope.

Where the Heart Is

2007-08-11T23:57:00.000+10:00

As part of my 50th blog I thought I might impart some wisdom. I know that on the 100th you write 100 things about yourself so for my 50th I'll share a few lessons that I've learned all in the past few days.
The first that I learned is that sitting in your house for a week straight will make you feel isolated and in a blah (hince the last post). You need to get out and get some sun daily so that you get your daily ration of vitamin D which will help you not feel so much like Gollum. That having been said the second lesson is this........ limit your time in the sun when you are inches away from the equator. Especially if you come from somewhere considerably above or below the equator. Five hours in the sun without sunscreen will leave you feeling stupid and in serious pain. I put sunscreen on my face and arms, but neglected the white parts of myself...... why, I will never really understand. My back and my legs are the same shade as a lobster and my skin is so swollen and painful that I'm afraid moving too fast in the wrong direction will cause it to split open which is both a painful and extremely disturbing thought.
My third lesson is this: I have come to understand why families have a tendency to lose touch when they move away. Being so far from family I find it hard to call everyone and keep in touch. Part of the reason is the time difference...... I am, after all, half a world away. The other reason is that it is painful. Daily I am reminded of what I miss about "home" and daily I am reminded that I miss my family. That is hard enough on it's own. Even harder is hearing their voices and being able to see their faces in my mind as I hear them talk and their surroundings........ the places that I miss..... the "home" that I miss. I find myself wanting to break down and cry after getting off the phone because I know that I won't see them any time soon and that I couldn't even if I wanted to. That may not be the reason for everyone, but I know that's the reason for me. More then anything I want my family to know that daily I wish I could see them and daily I miss them and think about how much I love them. The only thing that keeps me going is hearing my mom in my mind saying "Think of this as an adventure. You've always wanted to travel and now you are. Enjoy this time and embrace it." So I will enjoy it and try to see everything that I can so that I always have these memories, but "home" is where my heart is.

In A Blah

2007-08-05T05:24:00.000+10:00

I've spent the last few weeks in a blah. I don't know how else to describe it. Serious trouble sleeping. I'm writing this at five in the morning after staying up the night before and all day. I'm tired, but can't sleep to save my life. And I'm mad. Yeah I said it! I'm freakin' mad!!!! I don't really know why or who, but I'm mad!
Hubby keeps staying at work late which isn't his fault but I feel it should be. It's one thing to have him gone because then I don't rely on him to be there at all. When he's here I expect him home at a reasonable time so that I can go do something for myself (so I don't crack while he is gone from lack of me time). When he doesn't come home until after 8:30 pm and everything closes at 9pm that puts a dent in my plans. He had duty on my birthday. Again not his fault, but it ticked me off. I feel like when he is home he spends hours and hours on the computer..... in a seperate room....... it's like he's not even home. I would just prefer not to have to rely on someone else so maybe I will just stop relying on him for anything and then I can't get mad. Too bad it doesn't work that way and if it did it would probably kill my marriage.
I've also been sick again. Tired and unable to sleep. All my muscles hurt like I've been spending my days in an all day boot camp. And I've lost my appetite. I'm hungry. My stomach hurts, but I just don't want to eat. I feel like I drank way too much water. At the same time I would swear that I've gained weight around my midsection. It's swollen or something. I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday and hopefully I'll get some answers. I've been testing my thyroid every year since I was 18 because I was tired all the time so this has been ongoing and getting progressively worse. Watch it just be stress. Maybe I just need a vacation or three. Decompress. They say to exercise, but I'm not getting enough to eat or sleep for that. There's no way. I don't have a scale but I would swear I've gained more weight. It's getting ridiculous. I think that's part of my blah. I'm kind of scared to go and get checked out. What if they do find something? What if they don't find anything and they just tell me that I'm crazy stressed? Which is worse because I can't decide? I haven't even been knitting. GASP!!!!!!!! The end is nigh!!!!

Miracles

2007-08-01T12:26:00.000+10:00

Everytime I start to really question my beliefs as far as God is concerned, something happens that makes me believe even stronger then I did the day before. Today something like that happened. Growing up I went to church and was filled with faith and belief that God existed. I often times had dreams where someone (either an angel or Jesus) would sit and talk with me and would tell me that something was going to happen. After those dreams I would wake and remember in vivid detail everything and those dreams always felt so real. Then the thing that they had said would happen happened. When I became a legal adult I left the church partially because I couldn't stand the hypocrisy and bigotry that Christians showed towards people. Christ's message had always been about love and acceptance, but my fellow churchgoers talked about others behind their backs or didn't accept them because they had a blemish on their record. My other reasons were anger at a difficult situation (I still don't know if I was angry at the people involved, myself, or God on that one) and like most Christian teens found the world to be different then the little Christian bubble that I had been living in until then. Everything had been black and white and now suddenly everything turned grey. Every once and a while I still get a dream telling me about what's to come...... just not as often as before which I can understand because I don't converse with God daily and had begun to wonder if He existed or if we just believe so that we feel we're part of something bigger. I remember one time when I was deep in the trenches of trying to figure out the existence of God he sent me a quirky miracle that made me believe. My hubby and I took the kids to Barnes and Nobles in Hilton Head (which was about 30 minutes from our house at the time). We got there and got the kids out of the car and locked all the doors....... only to realize that the car was still running. I had left the keys in the ignition and locked the whole thing up. At the time I laughed because we had at least gotten the kids out. I knew it would take about thirty minutes to get someone to come out and pop the lock and we didn't have the money to pay for the service so we were in kind of a bind. For once I didn't panic and thought we could go into Barnes and Nobles and call around and maybe see if the police still jimmied cars. There was a guy on a ladder working on the doors at the entrance of the bookstore so I decided to ask him "Hey do you know if cops will still come out to jimmy a car because we locked our keys in the car and it's still running?" He replied "No they don't........ but I'm a locksmith." He jumped down off of his ladder and had our car open within five minutes and even made us a spare key for no charge. How crazy is that?
Nowadays if I pray to God it's regarding someone else. My sister-in-law found out she was pregnant. She already has a 13 year old son, was getting ready to start her career and was recently diagnosed with diabetes. If she were to go through with the pregnancy it could really hurt her health because she couldn't get her blood sugar under control and she was wrestling with the decision of whether or not to get an abortion. She didn't want to but she was afraid for her health as well. Last night I just said to God "I don't even know what the right answer here is. If you can find a way to make it work........" Today He made it work. She went in for a few day stint in the hospital to try and get her blood sugar under control and when they did the ultrasound the baby's heart was no longer beating. She had miscarried. Now that may not seem like a miracle to most people, but God took back a baby to heaven and eased the mind and body of my sister-in-law who doesn't have that gut wrenching decision to have to make anymore. He made it work.

Miles to Go Before I Sleep....... Miles to Go Before I......

2007-07-23T23:12:00.000+10:00

I feel like it should be October. I don't know why. Maybe because when we got here it felt like March and if you count the seven months that we've been here it adds up to, funny enough, October.That and I've been really cold here lately. For the past month or so I have been hot and sweating inside all the time (maybe it's hot flashes...... ha ha ha). But for the past two or three days I've been freezing my nubs off. My feet and hands are SO cold and all I can think to do is knit a stocking cap for my head out of the Rowan Calmer that I have. I thought about knitting socks from it, but I can't find all of my US 2 needles. I am so freakin' cold I have goosebumps up and down my arms and I'm wearing my Tink hoodie and flannel flamingo pants. By the way if anyone ever comes across a pair of pajama pants with a flamingo print please by a pair for me in XL because I love this pair, but I have had them for about 10 years now. I keep waiting for them to fall apart, but they have yet to show any signs of wear..... still it would be nice to have a backup pair. Don't you just love it when you have that piece of clothing that you just LOVE and it is so comfortable and if it ever gets a hole or becomes unwearable you will cry and mourn as if you had just lost a close friend? I sigh and think back to my Creeds tee, flannel shirt and cordouroy pants (I found those at the thrift store for $1.95 already broken in!!!).
Still plugging away on the blouson. I may be saying that everytime I blog until my first born leaves elementary school (starting Kindergarten this year). I started a stocking cap in the Rowan Calmer. I had to frog it though because I think I want to go with a smaller gauge and it was about five or ten sts shy of actually fitting my big head. I'm going to make that Alpaca Hoodie for my hubby that I found in Knitting With Balls as well as some socks for Christmas gifts unless people just don't want them. I'm not really that keen on socks........ until I knit myself a pair and I have to say that I wear them around the house just to lounge in and keep my toes warm. They are so comfortable that I completely changed my mindset towards socks. Can't wait to get cracking on my first Buffyverse sweater. I think I've set my mind to making the pink boat mock turtle neck because it was the first one that ever caught my eye and make me think "Wow, they really wear some neat sweater's on Buffy." Whatever..... anyways the point (besides the fact that I'm a dork with too much time on my hands...... at least I'm not inventing Calculus in my spare moments) is that I have a lot of knitting to try to squeeze into between getting Lola ready for her first year of school, putting Charlie into part time daycare, possibly getting a part time job or taking some classes, and being generally more active so that these don't become the last few years of my life in which I sat around and only knit 24/7.
A lot on my plate, but it'll be more interesting and fulfilling then sittin' around!

What to do? What to do?

2007-07-22T23:49:00.000+10:00

I was in a daze today. I literally did not know what to do with myself. I don't know if it's because of all the excitement of the past few weeks now suddenly being over or if I am in a slight state of mourning. Perhaps a little of both? I feel like this is the end of an era, but really it's not because there are two more movies that have yet to come out that will keep the Harry Potter spirit alive. That and I can read the books again any time that I want to. But there will be no more surprises and no more anticipation. I finally sat down and knitted for a little while which is something that I haven't been doing the last week or so. I tried to finish the Gryffindor scarf bag before the book was released. I did, but then frogged the flap because I knitted it in St st and it was curling too much. I now have it almost finished with just a few more rows to go and have fixed the problem by starting and ending each edge with three sts in garter so that it stays flat. Can't wait to get birthday money. I am so psyched to buy more yarn and get cracking on Christmas projects as well as my first Buffyverse sweater. I still haven't decided which one I'm going to try first, but I think it may be the Willow overlay in yellow and orange. It caught my eye the most along with the boat mock turtleneck in hot pink. I'm drawn to the color even though I rarely wear color myself.
Trying to hang on to money here in Guam is like trying to hang onto a feather in typhoon winds. It's proving to be quite difficult because everything that you would normally do is twice as much as you're used to and everything costs money. Whether you're going to a movie, or driving around the island because gas costs money and you can't really walk or bike anywhere here. You can, but you may as well jump out into the middle of the road and let them get it over and done with hitting you. Gas is creeping up to $4 a gallon and with no freeways and just stop and go traffic, a trip to the GPO (closest mall) takes about thirty minutes..... only twenty if you miss all the red lights. I need a hobby. Something more physically demanding then knitting because my legs are just itching for some serious movement. I feel like a caged animal and all I want to do is get out and run. *sigh*
I will work through it though and things will get better. Being more active will benefit and give me something fun and free to do. Being lazy is expensive.

Deathly Hallows, no spoilers

2007-07-21T22:01:00.000+10:00

It was great! There was only one death that I kind of expected, but didn't really want that occured (actually three). The rest came as par for the course of war. But there was one death that shocked me because I hadn't even contemplated it and it made me cry. My question of "what's up with the goat?" from seeing OOTP was answered (to much glee and laughter)....... and as a final note I have to say " You go Mrs. Weasley!" Chalk one up for all the mothers out there.

Must See Movies

2007-07-20T19:47:00.000+10:00

If you need something to......... Holy Hera!!!!! My house is shaking...... Woooooo! That was a long one. Didn't really shake (at least upstairs) but it made the house sound really loud with the rumbling and the....... well rumbling. We haven't had an earthquake in a while and that was a good one. I'd say a five or six. I think it really shook the downstairs because it freaked the kids out and they were downstairs. Normally they don't even notice them.
Anyways..... good summer movies to pass the day time while I'm reading Harry Potter and you're still waiting for it to come out in your fellow bookstore (sorry I couldn't resist with the mocking). Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix....... a definite must see for the Harry Potter fan. It was a good one. BUT, I have to say that my favorite movie to date this summer is Transformers. Shia LeBouf was so cute and his dialogue kept me laughing. The action was AWESOME!!!! I can not stress that enough. AWESOME!!!!!! I left the theatre quiet because if I started talking about the movie I was going to start jumping up and down like a kid screaming to everyone about how AWESOME that movie was. I wanted to burst out of my skin, I was so psyched after seeing that movie. AWESOME!!!! Did I mention it was AWESOME!!!!!? I was an occassional watcher of the cartoon when I was a kid so a die hard fan may love it, but then again they may hate it...... being the biggest critique as well as fan. The special effects were just...... WOW, and the humor was great.
Twelve more hours for Harry Potter. They don't have any midnight madness for the bookstores here, otherwise I would only have four more hours and I'd be jumping out of my skin in excitement. As it is right now my stomach is all butterfly...er.....y. Yeah.... something like that. I have my scarf bag that I made and I'm going to carry my book home in it :-)
Still plugging away on the blouson. That 10 inches of St st is kicking my butt. Lots of sts in St st in the round. It's taking forever. I'm averaging a row or two a day. I'm ready to start something new and might make a hat out of the Rowan Calmer that I have even though it's not really my color...... I've never been one for lavender. It's official name is Tinkerbell and I think that's the only reason why it's endearing to me in any way. If I wind up not using it it'll make a great hat for Lola when we go to Tokyo....... if we get to go to Tokyo ( I really want to go to Tokyo!!!!!). I have yet to be able to save money since we have gotten here. It's really difficult, but we're not struggling. It's more about just staying at home and not going out so much, but it's hard to when it's so beautiful outside. You wind up on the other side of the island using up all your gas and having to buy lunch. We need a cooler.

I'm A Dork

2007-07-20T03:08:00.000+10:00

Okay, all you family members out there can now leave comments. The reason you couldn't before is because it was set to allow only memebers of blogspot to do so. I had to change the setting to allow anyone to leave comments, hince the reason why doofus me took 4 months to figure that out (all the while sitting here wondering why no one was posting comments...... "Now why don't he write").
I wish I could continue the dork theme and say that I found my camera sitting out in the open on a table and that I had been looking at it everytime I passed it all this time, but no luck there. And if that were true I'd be seeing a neurologist and getting a CAT scan. I'm sure I will find it in the last place that I look..... hopefuly sometime before I give up and buy a new one.
Now I just have to figure out how to send a video to everyone via e-mail. I found some cute ones that I took using my digital camera (the one that the gnome's are holding for ransom). Watching them I realized how much my little girl has grown. There's a really funny one involving my son, his birthday cake and his fear of open flames.
I've been thinking a lot about my house and what I want to do with it and I think I'm going to be rearranging a few rooms. My hubby will finally get a room for himself. Actually it'll be a kind of everything room because the exercise equipment will be in there and I think the kids will be going in there to watch TV. Why do I even have a living room? I never use it or sit in it because it's just too open for me. Hubby says it's for when people come over, but no one ever comes over and would you really want them to? We have white couches and two toddlers so guess what, the white couches aren't really that white anymore. Speaking of which I found out today that Lola's teacher will be coming to our house before school starts. Well actually I already knew that, but I figured it was so that she could meet Lola on her turf so that she would feel more comfortable on the first day of school. Talking to the other parents though it seems that they do a thorough search of your house. What are they now, social services? That and over half of her school supply list is comprised of things that only the teacher is going to be using. Isn't that what we pay taxes for? This is a military DOD school. Shouldn't they provide all that stuff and keep their noses out of my life? I'll be darned if I let them have a tour of my upstairs. They can check out the downstairs, but that's it. No peaking in mine or my kid's rooms. In fact I'm really starting to consider home schooling. Once I buy everything on this school supply list I'll have enough to open my own school. I don't have anything to hide, but I don't like people snooping in my things, trying to find something wrong with the way I live my life and raise my children. It's bad enough that you can't even disipline your kids without wondering if someone's going to call social services on you. There's a reason why kids who only get time outs still get in trouble and a reason why most kids now a days have no respect for adults or other people....... because they don't know what consequences are. There are consequences for picking on someone bigger then you and in the real world it can get you hospitalized or killed. You have to have a healthy respect for these kinds of things. For my kids not doing what they're told gets them one swat on the leg or they get something taken away that they really like. Soon a swat on the leg will be illegal too. You shouldn't upset your kids or make them unhappy in any way is what we are generally saying and that's just crap because that's the real world. You can't do whatever you want to do and you can't have everything no matter how much you just believe in it. If you don't teach them that and prepare them so that they can fight through that and really accomplish their goals then there will be someone else out there that doesn't care about them or the law that will be more then happy to show them. And that never ends in sunshine and roses. I'll climb off my soapbox now.

If I Ever Find That Gnome.....

2007-07-20T00:48:00.002+10:00

..... you know, the one that stole my camera...... I'm going to kick his lil' gnome butt. There are so many things that I want to take pictures of and post on this blog as well as on MySpace and it kills me everytime I post another blog and have no pictures to accompany. Especially of my knitting because you can't see some of the cool things that I'm working on. I just finished a Gryffindor scarf bag that's big enough to hold the hardcover version of any Harry Potter book. Once the book craze is gone it'll work great to carry all my things when I go to the movies. One more day for me and then I shall know all the secrets of Harry Potter..... or at least all the secrets that JK lets us know. I was looking around on Mugglenet and they promised not to post spoilers, but I found that they post the links to them as well as putting them on the site where you have to highlight them if you want to read them. That's the same as posting spoilers in my mind. I'm keeping an open mind because I won't really know anything until I get to read the book. I pre ordered it, but realized that I won't get the book until several days afterwards and I would really be pissed if some ass went walking around the day after with a tee that says something like "Hermione dies on pg 503" and then I would have to jump him and beat the crap out of him (I don't know if Hermione dies in the final book or not..... I hope not because I have hopes for her and Ron). They did that with the sixth book and it really ticked me off even though I finished reading it before leaving my house and finding the sad truth, but it made me mad for all those that hadn't gotten that far into the book yet...... like the ten year old that started crying after she read the crapsters tee. One more day and I'll be up in the bookstore buying a book that I have already bought so that someone doesn't ruin it for me. That entire day will be spent reading and I'm hoping I'll have it done in a few hours.

Breathe me

2007-07-15T22:08:00.000+10:00

This song explains how I felt as a child and even moreso when I was 17. How I felt inside during that time..... a feeling that visits me in the night sometimes just to see if it can still make me cry.

Breathe Me by Sia

Help I have done it again
I have been here many times before
Hurt myself again today
And the worst part is there's no one else to blame
Be my friend
Hold me
Wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small and needy
Warm me up and breathe me
Ouch I have lost myself again
Lost myself and I am no where to be found
Yes I think that I might break
Lost myself again and I feel unsafe
Be my friend
Hold me
Wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small and needy
Warm me up and Breathe me

By the way...... it can.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

2007-07-12T15:25:00.000+10:00

Just one more week and the Harry Potter book will be out. I'm really excited to see how everything ends. My friend brought me a whole bag full of sweaters from Airman's Attic. It's a store here where you're allowed to take thirty items for free. With the winter clothes you can take as many as you want which is great when you run out of yarn and have no money. I just have to figure out how to deconstruct the sweaters without losing too much of the yarn. I've never done it before, but it's probably just like constructing..... only backwards (wait while I state something even more obvious). I finally got my cable back on and am as bored as ever because there is nothing on and I've gotten used to not watching all the crap. I never realized how much mindless dribble is on TV until I had to go a few months without it. There are a few shows worth watching and I always like HGTV and the Food Network....... probably because so and so didn't sleep with howdawhat's girl, who also slept with so and so's ex, who is hot for and almost kissed whodidoodle last week while drunk at the megawitch's annual party of all the cool kids to which lame-o-nerdicous wasn't invited. Yeah, that's probably why.
I can't wait for the hubby to get home. I'm so ready to get out and do something on my own......... I mean with my hubby. No not really. I mean on my own. I can't wait to get out to a movie or the beach without having to hold my kids by the back of their shirts so they're not running in the aisles or worrying about them drowning. I'll be able to relax at the beach and sleep in the sun and get burned all over my body..... just the front. Ah, good times...... good times.

MAGIC

2007-07-07T01:14:00.001+10:00

My skin has finally returned to semi normal...... something I had been afraid to post because if I say something it's likely to find it amusing to go haywire again. Either it's back to normal or I have just moved past caring which is a huge possibility at this point. I'm just very over it and ready to move onto things that are fun. Itching.... not fun, hence my wanting to move on. Everything else is back in order and I only have one more bill to have everything complete and back on track. Then it'll just be a matter of getting the Saab repaired and back on the road for the hubby to drive and all will be 100%. Better than because we didn't have two cars before.
I was feeling very Harry Potterish today and pulled out some old yarn that I used to make my sister a very long (VERY LONG) Gryffindor scarf two Christmases ago and decided to make a skinny Gryffindor scarf for my kids to wear to the movie. It has since been frogged and turned into a bag that is designed like the scarves from movies 3 and 4 and is big enough to hold a hardback version of any Harry Potter book. I wish I could find my camera and take pictures. Oh, God bless the day I find my camera because my blog will be so much more colorful. I would take the pics with the camera attached to the laptop, but that requires holding the laptop at weird angles and taking about a hundred pictures before getting one that's lined up right and lighted well enough to see that it's more then just a blob of fabric. I did it a few times, but tire of it very quickly. If only I had my camera...... all the sights you would see. I was out driving the other day, pining for my camera. I really don't know where it could have disappeared to. I think gnomes stole it. They would have had to because it truly did vanish into thin air. On the vanishing camera trick I have everyone from Penn and Teller to David Blaine beat! Although Penn and Teller could tell me how I did the trick and therefore reveal where my camera now lay.
Still making my Christmas list. It seems to grow as I think of more and more people that I don't want to leave out of the handmade knits circle. Alas I will have to trim the list because I do not knit that fast nor do I have that kind of time to devote. It would take me every hour of everyday and I would have to knit fast enough to set the wool on fire. I'm keeping to little projects that only take a few days and hopefully I will get done for everyone who made my first list and maybe for a few more who made my second, much longer list. We shall see.
Oh, I almost forgot...... Tuesday I went to the GPO (local mall) and they had Christmas decorations outside. At first I thought maybe I had joined the ranks of Rip Van Winkle and had slept longer then I thought because it's hard to tell here in the season of perpetual summer. Later that night I took the kids to a movie at the GPO and when we came outside it was snowing. I really thought I had lost my mind at that point. All those nights of wishful thinking since we got here had finally cracked my brain. It was like being in a dream. It was dark outside and they had lights up and you could see the snow drifting past the lights and accumulating on the ground. Then I had a second of fear where I thought maybe hell had finally frozen over and I was never going to read the last Harry Potter book because the world was about to end. Just a second though. Then I realized that it was the same "snow" they had in the mall during Christmas. It was foam...... which I must say makes a very realistic snow. It was very magical. The kids and I then went to the bookstore and tried a few things off their new menus where everything is named after something from a Harry Potter book. We had the Polyjuice Potion and Mrs Weasley's Berry Trifle. The Potion was a bit too sweet, but I can't wait to have another trifle and try the Gryffindor Latte.

I Feel Ready to Go Back to School

2007-07-02T14:12:00.000+10:00

I got my WOMBAT results. For those not in the know WOMBAT is a test on your knowledge on all things having to do with Harry Potter. On JK Rowling's official website she posts these tests every once and while. There have been three total. I missed the first two and was wondering how you play until I saw a post saying that the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the secret door was off and the third test was available to take if you could figure out how to open the door. I did and took the test which is the last and the hardest of all of them. You literally have to have read and know the subtle things about Harry Potter's world because they asked things that weren't in the book but you should be able to figure them out by just knowing how things work in Harry Potter's world. I must know it pretty good because I got an Exceeds Expectations on my results, something that surprised me because I really felt like I had no clue. What made this test even harder is that you could lose points for getting something wrong so I must have gotten most if not all of my answers right. I don't know what the highest grade is, but I'm guessing outstanding if they use the same grading scale as for the OWLS in Harry Potter. I'm such a dork and I know it.
I'm thinking I should have everyone send me money for this birthday since shipping anything is going to cost. At least with money it's only regular postage. That and I keep thinking about all the knitting supplies that I want to get along with some new clothes and shoes. My flip flops are coming apart and I've had my eye on this cute pair of sandals (very important to have in a warm climate). I thought about having people order the knitting stuff that I want, but I'm not even 100% sure about what project I want to start right now. There are so many that I'm anxious to cast on. Not to mention the whole Buffyverse set that I'm eager to get some yarn for and start reconstructing. I have come to the realization that the Buffyverse sweater reconstruction is going to take up years of my life because a sweater isn't cheap and while I did contemplate making them only big enough for my kids to fit into (use them as my models) it doesn't really help those adult knitters out there who maybe grew up watching Buffy like myself and would enjoy having one of those sweaters to fit themselves. I decided to make them big enough to fit an average sized woman and all that yarn can get pricey. I'm going to have to work it one at a time and slowly too because I've never done something this ambitious before, but I would feel like a chump if I give it up and back out. I can go with cheapy yarn and maybe I'll be able to eek out more then a couple every year along with everything else that I want to knit.
Currently I am knitting the short sleeve blouson from page 52 of the VOGUEknitting knit.1 summer 2007 Green Issue. It's a top down knit which I must say is a first and a pleasant experience for me. I was able to get to the waistband and bind off, finish the sleeves and then try on to see if it needed any adjustments. I found that I needed to add a few more rows in St st before decreasing for the empire waist, to allow for my larger then the norm bust. That's nice because knitting from the bottom up would have meant that I would have had to finish the entire shirt before trying it on and finding that my boobs did't fit into it. That would have ticked me off as I frogged over half of it to fix the problem. This way I only had to frog ten rows and I'm well on my way again. Sweet.
I bought the book Knitting with Balls by Michael del Vecchio and I'm excited to finally have some really nice gift ideas for men. It would be great if I could get my hubby to knit, but he's expressed no interest and that's fine, but still you dream. Maybe my son will want to learn. Either way I have some great patterns that I'm dying to knit. The Fisherman's Watchcap and Scarf Set would be a great Christmas gift as well as the Hiking Boot Socks and the Aran Laptop Cover. My brother-in-law requested wool socks once and I feel guilty because I never made them for him but these Hiking Socks would be an easy and quick knit on size 8 needles. Perfect for when he goes skiing. There's also a Hooded Alpaca Parka that I'm all set to knit for hubby, although I must confess that I'm sure I'm knitting it more for myself because I plan on stealing and using said Parka for me. Maybe I'll just make it for me and knit him the Argyle vest or the Aran Pullover. I wonder if he would like Knee Length Coat, but I'm guessing he wouldn't and I should probably stick to something simple and classic. I'm in the process of finding yarns to substitute since I'm unsure of how my skin would like alpaca (especially with everything here lately). I have plenty time to decide since I nor my hubby will need any sweaters anytime soon unless we decide to go to Tokyo in the winter. Which is a possibility. If I can get our passports. And save enough money. And get hotel reservations at the military hotel in Tokyo. And take a class in Japanese. And save enough money. And......... save enough money. Money is key. *sigh* So many things that I want to do....... if only I had a million dollars. Think of all the yarn I could buy with that! Actually I would buy a house in SC and a semi newer car for my hubby and then the rest could be split three ways between my kids: Charlie, Lola and yarn.

Allergy

2007-06-29T11:30:00.000+10:00

The itching came back. I had to take my sorry butt back to the doctor again this week, two days after telling my friend that I thought this time the medicine was working and I might finally be rid of this infernal itching. I woke in the morning itchy all over my legs, arms and face. I took two Benadryl and headed to the doctor who proceeded to do nothing for me. Not that it mattered because by the time I saw her the Benadryl was in full swing and I was completely lucid and non itchy at that point. I was however hoping they might perform an allergy test because I would really like to know what is causing this. They keep telling me to elliminate things from my diet which is great advice if it were something simple like strawberries or nuts, but I'm thinking it might be eggs, milk, or soy and that stuff is in everything, sometimes under names that you wouldn't think were that ingredient. They need to at least send me to a nutritionist so that I can spot the hidden milk, eggs and soy in an ingredient label. I guess I could confine myself to a diet of only rice for a few weeks, but that really sounds pathetic when I could go in and have them stick me with needles and tell me " Oh, hey, you're allergic to such and such." Just my luck I'm allergic to all three. If I had to pick I think I would choose...... well I really can't choose. Milk is in all my favorite foods, including chocolate. I just found a new love for tofu and I'm pretty sure that there are eggs in all the best foods as well. Or maybe it's none of those and if that's the case I may never figure out what it is. All I know is that I'm really itchy again today and I'm sure that I didn't eat anything with all three of those things in it yesterday. Maybe I'm allergic to myself. Or as the doctor said "I think maybe your skin doesn't like Guam." Well thank you, but can we find a different reason and a solution. Like an ALLERGY TEST! Please, I'm tired of this and I'm just waiting for the day when my reaction becomes so bad I have my life pass before my eyes as my throat swells shut and I can't breathe. I can't afford that right now. I'm a single mom for all intents and purposes for the next few weeks until my hubby returns from his deployment. I can't be sick, or ill, or run down, or even the slightest bit tired. I just can't. Why can't anyone else see the importance of me being well for at least a few weeks. Throw me a friggin' bone!
In other news, Lola lost another tooth last night. The Tooth Fairy had to frantically search for dollar to put in place of said tooth, but was fortunate enough to find one stashed away which is good because otherwise the Tooth Fairy would have had to bum said dollar off of the Easter Bunny who lives two blocks away.

Hobbies

2007-06-23T15:22:00.000+10:00

I found another hobby that I want to try. Well actually two. Kite boarding and scuba diving. I really want to learn to surf, but there's really only one good place to surf here and I'm sure they don't want a novice swimming up in there and ruining things. If I learn kite boarding though I have more places to learn without getting in other people's way AND when I go to learn surfing it'll be easier because I will have already learned balance on a board and built up the muscles needed. We're planning on San Diego as our next duty station and I'm hoping my sister is still into surfing because then she can maybe help me and we can surf together..... or kite board. I've been working out to build up the muscles needed for kite boarding so that it'll be easier and I'm planning on taking my first lessons in the "winter". Now if I can just figure out how to do all this and knit at the same time ;-)
I wish I could fix my elliptical machine. It works, but it makes a loud clacking noise that makes it annoying to use. While assembling it you have to have someone on each side tightening the handles at the same time with the same tension. Unless they're the same person they're not going to tighten with the same tension. My hubby, who can bench 300 lbs, is going to tighten a little tighter then myself, who can only bench 160lbs (I know.....impressive......I think.....how much can a normal woman bench?). Anyways, the point is, it's annoying and you can't use it early in the morning without waking the kids. Any mother will tell you they don't want their kids up when you're trying to get in exercise, a shower and breakfast made before they grace you with their wonderful energy.

Summerwear and Christmaswear

2007-06-22T08:16:00.000+10:00

I'm still in the process of cataloging and picking which sweaters I'm going to recreate from the Buffyverse. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Willow has a yellow and orange mohair (or angora?) overlay that looks like it would be really neat to recreate. There were a lot more then I thought there were and I'm kind of in overwhelmed mode right now. Between that and making out my knitting Christmas list I'm up to my eyeballs in designs, yarn, needles, and lists. I'm also trying to work out how to knit and work out at the same time. If I work out as much as I knit I'll be as buff as..... well Buffy. I was also struck by inspiration. I've had a cone of a cotton/linen blend ribbon yarn and I had no idea what to do with it until I purchased the Summer issue of knit.1. There's a blouson knitted from the top down that looked like I could pull it off with this ribbon. That way I'll have a nice shirt for myself and get rid of this yarn that's been mocking me from the back corner of my knitting drawer.
To keep things simple I have decided that my mom and dad are the only ones getting big knit gifts this year. Everyone else will be getting hats, scarves or socks. As much as I would love to knit everyone a cardigan or sweater I just don't have the time or the money to do so.
I also have been thinking about what I want for my birthday. All knitting related of course. I'm quickly running out of all that yarn that I bought and I have so many projects that I want to get going and done. I also need new clothes. Not of the knitted variety but just your general everyday t-shirt. Don't know where to buy for them here though. Everything's so expensive and if I'm going to order off line I like to do so in one big shopping event so that I have minimal in the way of shipping. There are the local shops that I need to locate, but general wardrobe consists of long skirts and tees..... the local outfit of choice for women island wide. No MuMus! I have seen lots of them sold everywhere along with skirts and dresses which would be nice except in order to wear a skirt of any kind I need shorts underneath. For comfort and modesty purposes. I always feel like my butt is just hanging out in the wind whenever I wear a skirt. If I could find a pair of spankies with a little pocket that would be great. IDEA!!!!! Maybe I could knit some!!!. But first I need yarn and needles!
I dyed my hair. Just thought I would throw that in. Natural reddish blonde. I like it. I'm still getting used to it though. I haven't colored my hair in years and it shows. I'm going to have to redo it in a few weeks because I focused on my roots and should have used two bottles instead of one. The result is that it looks like my hair is growing back in natural reddish blonde. The ends are a little red, but there is a strip of hair (a horizontal strip) that is my original color. But I've been ponytailing it until I can fix it. It'll be okay. For the next dye job I'll focus more on the middle and ends and make sure that I have two bottles in case I need them. This will actually work to my advantage and keep me from getting hot roots. My hair has been growing like crazy and is back to the same length that is was before I cut four inches off of it about two months ago. ohhhh...... m&ms. I just found sitting next to me.

Welcome to Crazytown, next stop... Buffyverse

2007-06-16T01:27:00.000+10:00

I've been blogging because I have no one to talk the ears off of. Another sleepless night, but at least the itching is going away and I'm sure I'll have no problem sleeping while we take the kids to see Surf's Up tomorrow. Crazytown placed me in the vicinity of Christmas town and I'm furiously making out my knitting itinerary for the Christmas season. What yarn I need for what project that I'm making for whom. Also while in a drug induced moment of inspiration last week I realized that the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer (of which I have all seasons except season 7..... I will have it soon.... oh yes, I will have it soon) has a vast array of sweaters that look absolutely fabulous. I probably never noticed this before because while on air I wasn't yet addicted to the knitting scene. I have already spotted several key sweaters that I think I will begin to design through close study, just as other people have done for Harry Potter and the like. Giles has several tweedy English style classics that would appeal to men, Willow's always sporting something artsy, and Buffy has the fashionable yet classic knits.......most of which are chunky and should knit up quickly and easily. There's one sweater in particular from the episode "Where the Wild Things Are" from season four. It's a chunky turtle neck in St st that has several lines of garter for interest. There is also a bright pink sweater (dubbed the cotton candy sweater by my thoughts) that is a boatneck, but then is a turtle neck and is very bright and pretty. There are also some white turtlenecked raglan sleeved sweaters that look very cozy as well. I shall begin work immediately and posts will follow soon. I'm focusing on Season 4 as of right now and will move on from there. I don't remember seeing many...... if any from the first season, but I'm sure there are and I'll get to those. Starting with season four will put the fashion more forward and keep us from horrid 90's fashion flashbacks, but if I find some nice classics I'll pass them along. Here's to you Joss Whedon and the clothing staff of the show that got me through the last year of high school and into the first year of my marriage. No one else that I knew watched Buffy or gave it a chance, but I could relate to the issues that she went through and that was Joss Whedon's goal. I'd say he did a fabulous job. I wonder if he'll ever come across this blog and if he does I hope that he likes that fact that I took an interest in something that other people might never have noticed. He probably doesn't care either way, but here's to Joss Whedon, Buffy and the Scoobies, knitting, the combination of all and steroids!

Steroids: round 2

2007-06-15T13:02:00.000+10:00

Here I am hopping the bus to CrazyTown again. Another round of steroids and hopefully a resolution to the itch phenomenon. It might be the dog, it might be eggs, it might be that I'm allergic to my hubby. I hope it's not the dog because then it's going to be hard to go visit hubby's family since they all own dogs. It started really breaking out yesterday bad and I had a plate of eggs for breakfast with the kids Wednesday morning. In fact if I remember correctly I started getting itchy around afternoon time Wednesday. If not then it's hubby who came home on Wednesday evening. Something that he's bringing home from work.....which could be ANYTHING! Or it just could be ANYTHING! Maybe it is the dog because since I got home I've gotten itchier and itchier. It's something in this house! I'm itchier downstairs then upstairs though and the dog resides upstairs. I don't know. I JUST DON'T KNOW! And it's driving me crazy!!!!!!!!!! It's idiotic that you should suddenly develop an allergy to something as an adult. And if it's eggs I'm really screwed because some of the best foods have eggs in them......like eggs. Or maybe it's the cat. She resides downstairs most of the time.....hmmmmm...... I wouldn't mind getting rid of the cat, but the kids wouldn't like it. They love her. And I would have thought that I would have broken out way back when we got the cat. Maybe it's just dust. Okay I'm going to stop with the maybes because they're driving me batty. Off to bed so I can nap and stop itching for a little bit while I'm unconcious.

The Itch is Back

2007-06-15T08:16:00.000+10:00

Elton John reference there for all you Elton John fans. But the itch is definitely back. I am freaked beyond belief and hating having to go back to the doctor. My car that I bought still isn't ready so they put me in a rental. The Guam bombest rental they could find.The check engine light is on and the door handle came off in the hubby's hand as he tried to enter the car. This car is one of the Tercels that they had for sale. I'm now forever grateful that they've taken the time to fix up the Camry as much as possible before releasing it to me and if they had handed me this Tercel for $3000 I would have handed it right back and be on a plane to Bali or Japan for a vacation right now. Surprisingly $3000 would not get me to CA either one way or round trip otherwise it would be there that I make my destination.
I was wrong in my posting before about the rainy season. The rainy season starts in July so the rain that we were seeing earlier is nothing. It seems funny that they let the kids out of school just in time for the rainy season. Happy summer vacation. Enjoy it indoors. Hopefully it won't be too bad and most of the rain will occur at night as I have read. We've been here all of the dry season and already almost had a typhoon. The rainy season is, of course, more prone to typhoons and I'm praying that this isn't the year for a super typhoon (or any year that we're here for that matter).
I guess at least it's a payday. That doesn't make the itch go away......in fact it doesn't even make it bearable at this point. You know what, I'm really starting to hate the ridiculousness that has become my life. I know it could be worse, but I also need a break at this point. I would settle for no itch, but I'm also tired of having to throw all my money away on rental cars because they can't fix my car or because they are continually repairing the other car that I have bought and paid for. I have other bills that need to be paid. Like the phone and the cable. It really sucks being stuck in the house with no vehicle or no money when you don't even have cable to make the time pass (no cable equals no tv period).
Well I'm off for the day to get money, see a doctor about some more steroids, and to hopefully get my car.....finally.

Passing

2007-06-14T03:13:00.000+10:00

There is a blog that I read frequently, www.que-sarah-sarah.blogspot.com..... A woman named Sarah Toller who is living with melanoma. I just recently found her blog and have gained a new perspective on life by reading what it's like to live with cancer. All her dreams, being a mom in particular, were taken from her when cancer came knocking. She speaks very frankly and emotionally about how she always knew she was meant to be a mom and how she can't now because of cancer. She had been very sick as of late. Her hubby had been blogging for her since she was hospital bound and in and out of drug induced sleep. She died in the morning of the 12th of June stateside time. I never knew her, but I feel like I did and I cry for her. I hope she found peace.

I have NO witty title

2007-06-13T06:17:00.000+10:00

Hubby is due home sometime today and I'm excited. Not because I'll get to see him, but because I'll get a break. And because I'll get to see him, but moreso because the kids will get to see him. They've been asking all week "Where is daddy?" It's going to really get old hearing that quesion everyday when they go away for a few months.
I've spent the last few days looking at going to Japan. I think that it would be nice for us as a family to go around Thanksgiving or Christmas. That way we can experience the cold and it'll feel more like the holidays. This year we're going to try for Southern California. I keep promising my dad that I'll come and visit, but every turn to try to get there has been hampered. I was going to try to fly space available, but came across the problem of how to get back since they only fly out around San Francisco. I would have to be able to have cheap lodging until I could get a flight out. Then I found out that they want you to have enough money to be able to buy tickets back. Well the cost of a one way ticket from there to here costs just as much (actually more) then a round way ticket from here to Southern California. If I had $5000 I would just buy the tickets and save myself the hassle. This all seems highly ludicrous since it would have been cheaper if I had flown out to see him while I still lived in the states. And did you know that it costs just as much if not more to fly to Hawaii from here. It seems ridiculous. Flying to Japan is $400-$500 and flying to Bali (which is further) is $400. Where do they come up with these prices? I guess they charge more for where everyone wants to go. Bali is another place I would love to go....... as well as Hong Kong and mainland China. The China trip would have to be a long one so I could see everything that I've always wanted to see. There is so much that I was hoping to see, but it looks like money is going to get in the way of that. I guess I should be grateful that I've made it halfway around the world from where I started. I've always wanted to see the world.....different places and different faces. There's so much to learn. Then there's also New Zealand and Australia that I'm tempted to see while I'm here as well. First thing I need is a passport ;-)

Seven Year Itch (Feels like)

2007-06-12T00:19:00.000+10:00

There was a bit of a worry today when I thought the horrid itch was coming back, but I think it may finally be calming and retreating back to wherever it came from which is a big relief. Try going two months being so itchy that you can't sleep or do anything while trying to watch your kids in a tropical climate and see if it doesn't test your mettle as a human being to the core. I feel pretty darn proud of myself that I made it through without breaking down and crying everyday and I was still able to keep up with the dishes (that was my one goal everyday besides feeding and taking care of my kids.....which is pretty ambitious since I have to wash everything by hand.....something that takes me the better part of an hour.....and any movement could send me into itch hell from which there is no escape until it decides to release me). It's funny how skin problems come and go without you ever really being able to pinpoint what caused it in the first place. This isn't the first time that something like this has happened to me and I fear not the last until I find out what causes the reaction to begin with. Until then I'll just be happy that it's over with......for now. Ominous words.
I was finally able to clean my downstairs. Something that was driving me crazy from the clutter. My friend came over and kept me company while I cleaned and our kids played. Now I just have to clean the rest of the house and I'll feel much better....like some kind of control has been returned. I cleared out five bags of trash. All of it papers and shredded toilet paper (thank you cat) except for one bag that carries my favorite blanket. It's a chenille blanket that I bought from Target before we left the states and I loved it.....until it started falling apart. At first I thought the cat was putting holes in it but noticed that the yarn itself was becoming threadbare and simply falling apart. Washing it is completely out of the question. I would end up with piles of string in my washer. And there are so many big holes appearing daily that it's not uncommon for me to wake with all my appendages threaded through one. It was a beautiful knit blanket.....chocolate brown chenille......but very shoddy workmanship. I could probably search for a chenille yarn that's very sturdy and knit one myself, but it would cost and arm and a leg. If it lasts forever that's not really too bad of a deal. Right now I'm content using my hubby's cotton blanket while he's gone. I found a standard issue hospital cotton blanket which I like except that I wake waffle weaved (my skin, that is). I'm picky about my bedding and like high thread count sheets, fluffy matress pads and pillows and cozy, luxurious blankets/quilts/duvets.
I took a drive around the island in the SUV yesterday (the SUV that I'm renting until I get my car......my NEW TO ME car). I'm actualy getting the SUV for the same price as a compact because they didn't have any compacts and we're friends with the car rental guy (we should be by now because we've had to rent cars from him so much plus you just make friends quickly in paradise). Stop anywhere along the south end of the island and you're likely to be invited to a barbeque. You go to the beach with just you and your family and you bring food, but by the time you leave it's a big party that everyone chips in on. Especially if you have kids. They always want to feed the kids and there's usually some kind of religious festival taking place in one of the villages everyday. The thing I like most about the southern side of the island is the fact that the resorts and tourists have barely touched there and so the natural beauty still abounds. Even on the "city side" I still find myself staring at the coast because I can't believe how beautiful and blue and green it all is. That's nothing compared to what you find in the south. I wish I had my camera because I never got a chance to really snag pictures of the south. I have a few, but even the color in those is not vibrant enough to explain what it looks like in front of your eyes. As you drive along the windy road, over and down mountains, along the coast.....literally hugging the coast, you can see little secluded beaches and some small islands that you would be tempted to swim out to for the day with a hammock and something to split and pierce coconuts. Maybe some water too (too much coconut juice would leave you in trouble the next day). I saw something I would really like to try. Kiteboarding. It's so windy here it's perfect, although can be dangerous because it can pick you up and slap you down hard in the water. It looks like fun and surfing space is limited here (although I'd love to learn to surf as well). Scuba diving is something else I want to take a try at as soon as hubby gets home for a little while and can take classes with me. I think he would be upset if I did it by myself because he wants to learn so badly as well. I would be mad if he took classes without me. I'm just saying ;-P
Speaking of classes, I'm looking into taking some here soon. Automotive technology. A mechanic. After everything that I've been through with the car here it seems like not only a great way to make money, but also a valuable skill in today's world. There is a shortage in mechanics and I'm anxious to get into it although the class list seems daunting upon first glance. Maybe I can get certified and then go for the degree later. I really want to get back to making money so I'm looking for a fast track of some sorts. Maybe the guy that was working on my car would take me on as an apprentice. Most of his mechanics are learning though apprenticeship. Hard on him, but he's giving people jobs and that is commendable. As I've said before they're really good at fixing Toyotas and all the other common brands, but a Saab is a new beast for them. Literally. They don't like my car. They affectionately refer to it as they're personal hell. Ah well. Tomorrow I will have a common brand and then at least one car will always be easy and quick to fix. Ideally it shouldn't break down.....I would say I dare it to break down, but I did that to the Saab and it did about ten minutes later. I'm not pressing my luck ;-@

Bright Sunshiney Day

2007-06-09T13:49:00.000+10:00

Tuesday I was itch free and most of Wednesday. Then the itching came back. So now I know that it's the medicine that they gave me for the infection because I take it once a week on Wednesday. It got worse until today.....or at least it hasn't been that bad today. Everything has cleared up though which is a really good thing because now my arms look like arms and not like a blotchy sore mess. Finally things are better and part of that may be from the fact that things are better. I'm sure the stress of the past two months has been helping my skin freak out.
My hubby and I celebrate our anniversary as soon as he gets back from this short cruise that they are on. We're planning on going to one of the Korean barbeques and Polynesian shows that they have at the hotels in Tumon. We've talked about it ever since we got here. Last year we went to the Melting Pot and that was a great time. We had fun talking and eating and enjoyed our evening without the kids. We are fortunate to have someone to watch the kids for us this year as well and might look into getting a hotel room so we can hit a club and drink a few before crashing for the night. There are several clubs down by the hotels as well so it's nothing to walk back to the hotel when you're done for the evening. The only other thing that I would want to do is eat at the Firefly. They have paella and I've been wanting to try some. I would really like to go to Spain and have some paella as well as hit a choclateria and have the thick melted chocolate that is their hot chocolate, but I won't be going to Spain anytime soon so I figure the Firefly would be a good place to try my first paella. Then there are all the Thai and Indian places that I'd like to try as well, but having never tried anything like that the question is where to begin when you enter a restaurant.
I need to buy new shirts. All of mine have holes in them. I found that this was because I was knitting socks. My US 1 needles poked little holes in the bottom of all my shirts. I thought the washing machine was doing this until I was knitting a sock the other day and I brought the knitting chest level and adjusted my yarn. While doing so I used my chest as leverage and wound up with a small hole poked into the chest of my shirt. I thought "wow, that looks familiar" and realization abounded.
I spent my sick time finishing my Create-Along and since spent the rest of my sick time knitting Lola another shirt with the remaining Tahki that I have and making hair scarves from the Kidsilk that I had originally planned for the dress for my Create-Along. I'll share those with the Create-Along blog as well since they are of my own design and are made with the required yarns. I also have some Calmer that would fit into that category as well as soon as I figure out what I want to make with it. So here's to knitting to keep yourself from scratching!

Steroids

2007-06-05T15:24:00.000+10:00

Here lately I've been sick with something. It's attacking my skin and I feel like I'm fallling apart. Then there is all the itching. And itching. And more itching that is driving me insane, making it impossible to sleep for more then two or three hours before I have to take more Benadryl which really only takes the edge off the itching. I had to finally go a week without any Benadryl because I was afraid I was going to OD on it, that and it started giving me a hangover feeling. I did find that knitting helps stop the itching. Probably for the same reason that meditating or deep breathing would. It's something repetitive that I can focus on instead of the itching. But today I was fortunate (I hope) to be prescribed steroids to help get rid of the itching and pain that has become my skin. A few weeks ago one of the medicines that they tried me on gave me a wonderful allergic reaction and hince all the itching. I'm hoping this will work and I'm slotted to see a dermatologist. They think all my problems stem from an allergy. Actually several allergies and they're trying to find a way to get my skin to stop freaking out. I am grateful that I don't have some kind of flesh eating disease, but this is also no walk in the park. I've finally been forced to stop all activity because anything I do will make me itch or will make me a howling, twitching freak as I try to keep from scratching the intense itching that is my whole body because scratching it just brings burning pain from which there is no relief. My hubby witnessed this last night (he's been stuck on a ship for the past week and hadn't yet seen to what extent the itching intensified) and called to make me an appointment early this morning while he let me sleep in to gain the few extra hours of peace that I could. That's saying a lot because my hubby usually does for himself and lets me do for myself. He must have thought I needed some serious help. I've been on steroids before. In fact the last time that I had a reaction to a drug that I was on several years ago. That is a funny story too. I was 18 at the time and was on an antibiotic for a sinus infection. I had noticed a few hives on the insides of my arms and legs, but didn't know what they were. I was feeling aweful....like I was coming down with the flu. My body didn't want to move and I had a headache and all that jazz. I went to the doctor and they said I had hives and gave me steroids. I went straight home without getting my steroids because I felt so bad and just wanted to sleep. I hit the bed and knocked out hard. When I woke in the morning I felt great. I remember upon waking thinking that maybe I didn't need the steroid. Then I pulled back the covers. The only thought that came to mind was " OH MY GOD!" There were hives all down my legs and all over my arms and hands. I ran to the mirror. My face was bright red and my neck had a rash. I started pulling off clothes saying "Oh MY GOD!" with each piece because everything was covered in hives. Then came the realization that I still had to go out in public and get the steroid. That was one of those times when I just had to crack up laughing. I strutted into public not caring because what else was I going to do (although I did make my friend come with me for moral support). Then at the pharmacy the woman took my insurance card without looking at me and started asking me questions. When she got to "Do you have any allergies to any medications?" I stayed quiet until she looked up and replied "That would be a yes......" It was pretty darn funny. And it only took a month and a half for all the hives to finally go away (ha ha.....not really......ha ha). The itching goes away after the steroids and I'm hoping this is the same. Actually I wish I didn't have any problems with my skin. Especially since you can't hide behind sweaters and jeans here. You would die within an hour from heat exhaustion.
Our car broke down.......again. Same problem. The clutch cable. The mechanic kept complaining that the cable was an inch too long which can't be because it's a genuine Saab clutch cable......so that means they're missing another piece or they're putting it on wrong. It didn't feel like it broke, but it feels like it stretched out and it's now difficult to impossible to get it into gear. I was able to jam it into first and get it home and we called for a rental car. Luckily we already have our loan money and are in the process of buying another car from the guy that we rent cars from. Right now we're renting this SUV and I've never driven an SUV before. I'm all of five foot nothing and I'm not used to looking down on the world. I like it. I almost don't want to give the vehicle back. But I also can't afford to keep renting it......well we can, but there's something we can get cheaper and who doesn't like to save some money.

The Rain in Spain......

2007-05-26T00:44:00.000+10:00

Lots of rain here. They should call it monsoon season. I actually heard thunder the other day and today I saw lightening AND heard thunder. I was beginning to wonder if they actually had thunderstorms. Most of the rain here comes sans thunder and lightning. The rain offers plenty of time to finish knitting projects and pick up new ones.
I finished my create-a-long. I took this picture with the camera that's on my computer so it's a little hard to make out detail, but you get the general idea. I'm proud of it. I also have enough Tahki cotton classic to try and make a cardigan for Lola. I'll soon find out if the five skeins I have left are enough or not. I really want to order some sport weight burgandy and gold yarn and knit up a Harry Potter scarf that I can wear to the veiwing of Order of the Pheonix and while reading book seven (Deathly Hallows). It would definitely keep me busy. I feel I have been very productive. I managed to knit four socks, a tank top, dress, silk sweater and a shrug (that I later frogged) all since I have been here. I don't think I have made anything for hubby or Charlie and have to rectify that by making Charlie something Harry Potterish, Spidermanish,or Piratey. Hubby's already slotted for a sweater (curse be darned) and I'll make both as soon as I find and order the perfect yarn. The perfect yarn can be hard to find. Firstly it needs to be machine washable. Then it also has to be tough and long lasting. I have a chenille blanket that I bought from Target that is already thread bare and falling apart. I woke up with string wrapped around my arm and my toes poking through one of the six holes that have appeared in the seven months that I have had the darn thing. Shoddy craftsmanship. I can do better......as soon as I find the perfect yarn (sigh!). It's difficult when you can't feel before you buy. I want something soft and washable. Double sigh. I need money first.
Our car is back in our possession although the front passenger side wheel feels like it's going to fall off everytime I go around a left hand curve and there is something rattling under my gas pedal that I'm guessing comes from something being put back in wrong or not tight enough when they were working on the clutch. It was making a noise like a bad muffler, but it's only audible inside the car and not outside which makes the exhaust seal is worn story not a good one. I'll be taking it back along with the repair manual and an offer of my help since I have worked on cars before. I think my decision to go back to school and become a mechanic is a good one even if other people seem to look down on it. There is a mechanic shortage, it's a good paying job AND it's a great skill to have since everyone has a car and need it repaired. In fact right now I know of three different families that are wishing they knew how to fix their own car right now (mine being one of them). I guess people look down because it's dirty manual labor. Which tells you how snobby our society has gotten. To me it's like working a puzzle and isn't really much different from my dream of being a doctor when I was younger. I'll be a car doctor.

Toothfairy

2007-05-19T11:43:00.000+10:00

Well here it is. A picture of Lola missing her tooth and with short hair (which I think looks really cute). She lost her tooth on Mother's Day. And we also had a nice sized earthquake. I suppose it's the rainy season here because it has been raining like crazy. Everytime I get the kids dressed to go play and then the sky goes grey and it pours down t must have started the growing season for vegetation that we are all allergic to because we have been sneezing like crazy.
Come Monday we will have a new family member. We're taking my friend's dog because she can't take the time with her that she wishes she could. Seeing as she's eight months pregnant with her third child I can see why. Her dog, Lucy, reminds me of our golden retriever, Lilo, that was lost in transit to Guam. Lucy is a boonie dog and she's almost a year old. I'll have just enough time left to train her the rest of the way before I go back to work and the kids head of to school and the CDC. I'm looking at a part time job at a bookstore inside the airport. It's the graveyard shift and works great for me until the hubby goes out. Then I have to find someone to watch them in the middle of the night (pretty easy since they'll all be sleeping).
I'm now four skeins into my create-a-long project. It's looking pretty darn good and I'll take a pic of it after I do the decreases for the waist. I have to admit that it's pretty plain, but that's how I like my projects. The pieces in your wardrobe that last the longest are the ones that are classic and plainish in design. So hopefully after Lola has outgrown this dress it'll still get plenty of wear for generations to come.

Home

2007-05-16T11:38:00.000+10:00

Finally inspiration hit and I was able to get further along on my create-a-long then I have to date. I think part of it was committing to a design and not changing my mind. I'm hoping it'll turn out like I want......if not it'll be frogged.......again. I am the queen of TINK. Instead of KNIT I spend most of my time doing the opposite. Well I can say that I have four good inches done which is good since I have 288 sts in the round that I'm laboring away on. I have been able to do these four inches (two of which are lace) in the past two days. I think that's pretty good and if I keep at this pace I should have the skirt done by tomorrow or Friday I think. I have nothing else to do with no car. If we happen to get a vehicle then progress may be slowed.....just a bit.
On my computer I have a scenic picture. It's not the most beautiful picture, but it's a picture of my Grandma's front yard. It's the view from her front porch. Last night I had a dream that I was driving the road to her house. The road after you get off of I-95 is a thirty minute jaunt, but I can remember every part of it in extreme detail. So much so that it felt real. I woke up just as I was driving down the hill of her driveway and I could see her house and my Grandpa working in the front yard. I cried upon waking because the dream ended there. I cried because it felt so real, and I cried because I miss them. It's only been six months that we've been here, but we have two and a half more years here and it's looking less and less like we'll be able to fly all the way home and see the one's that I love in that time. Last place that we were stationed we lived only two hours away and I feel like I didn't visit as often as I should have. Sometimes you try, but life, money, cars.......they get in the way. My Grandma's house is my zen oasis because whenever I was there I was surrounded by family and there was nothing for me to worry about. Someone is always there to help take care of whatever problem you may have. Biscuits and gravy are comfort food. And your best friend is your cousin that lives next door......the one you had your summer adventures with. I miss home.

Car and Creativity

2007-05-15T06:30:00.000+10:00

Still no solution to the car thing. I had to take a few days and just step away from it and leave it in the hands of the hubby. Too bad hubby is working all day everyday. And before anyone fusses " Quit your whining" I mean he works all day. He leaves here at five in the morning and gets home around 8, 9, 10, even 11 at night. Last night he didn't get home until 11pm and it seems that everyday they are keeping him later and later.......probably because they are. I was really mad last night and put the kids in the bed with me to sort of ban hubby from the bed, but when he got home I realized it's not his fault and he's just as unhappy as we are. He misses his kids and he goes on deployment in another week or so. We're getting a rental car and I'm hoping I'll be able to get down to the mechanic and get a good look at this part that needs to be ordered. The mechanic seems to be incapable of talking with a woman.....or maybe he can sense that I'm becoming semi-hostile towards him. I can't imagine why. I mean when I called to have him come pick up the car when we got the part he was so helpful.........(not really that's extreme sarcasm there).
I haven't told this story on this blog so let me tell it to you. I called to have him come and pick up the car because he told my hubby that he knew the clutch was on backwards and flipped sideways and that he would tow it to the garage and fix it once the part came. So when the part arrived (the one we found out later was the wrong part) I was very excited and called him to have him come and tow the car. "You'll have to have your husband call me and make arrangements to ahve the car towed here," is what he told me. I explained that my hubby was working long hours, six days a week and that I was calling to make arrangements and that it had already been discussed between him and my hubby that he would come and tow the car from our garage to his. He said that he never made that arrangement. Okay, well I'm calling now to make that arrangement. He said that was fine and he would come and tow the car, but that he still needed my hubby to call him because he would need directions to our house. Excuse me? I really wasn't even sure if I had heard him right, but I replied that I could give him directions. He reluctantly agreed and then proceeded to make up directions as I was giving them to him ( "take the first right into the neighborhood BEFORE the school"......... "turn left after the school"..........." No, turn right before the school"........"right, left before the school"........." NO......." ). So needless to say I was a little peeved after that phone call, but he came and got the car the next day and then proceeded to call us to tell us we had ordered the wrong part (or more like he had us order the wrong part). I called trying to find out the name of the part that we needed so that I could order it and all he could tell me was that " It's a bushing for the shifter.........well I call it a bushing" and then started in with the whole have your hubby call me so we can get the right part. Well obviously you two had trouble the first time so why don't you let me help you out this time because hubby leaves in a week and you won't have him to talk to and I really want my car before then, but that's not going to happen. We really don't have the money to tool around in a rental car and all this is ticking me off again so that's all I'm going to say about that.
Needless to say all this has kept me from starting on my create-a-long project which should have been done by now. Trust me I ahve tried to start it, but to no avail. I have started, gotten halfway done, and frogged it all because of severe mistakes at least five times now. I have not started knitting anything else. I was determined to get the silk sweater done before I started on the create-a-long, but I finished that awhile ago and have had no luck on the create-a-long. It's like I can't count the right number of stitches all of a sudden and I keep making stupid mistakes and all of it is turning out to be more stressful then relaxing. I'm thinking of ordering some yarn and knitting a simple Harry Potter scarf that I can wear to the movie, but I really don't want to start another project without at least getting this one going, but maybe doing something simpler will help me get going with this dress for the create-a-long.

Sad, sadder, and saddest

2007-05-13T02:10:00.000+10:00

The stress is getting to me. I don't think I can take it anymore and all I want to do is pack my bags and take my kids and myself back to the states. We still have no car and after recieving the part that we needed we had the mechanic come and pick up the car only to have him call us thirty minutes later to tell us it's the wrong part. Hubby goes on deployment in about a week and I can't take this anymore. Hubby printed out a pic of the part and took it to the mechanic to make sure it was the right part BEFORE we ordered the thing and the guy said that yes it was, but it gets here and it's the wrong part. I would take the car to someone else, but I doubt they would have better luck PLUS I would have to fork out $600 more dollars in labor.
To top it all off my hands are tied. I can't get a job because I need a car and child care, but I can't get a job or child care without a car AND unless I have a job I don't get priority for child care so I have to wait for a few months before they can even take my kids!!!! I was thinking with a job we would at least have a little more money so that we could get another car. I would be better off going back to the states because it's really hard to find a job here and all the used cars cost just as much as the new cars. At this point I want to buy new so that I know we won't have any major trouble with it for the duration of our stay here on island. And I want to get a Toyota because they have readily available Toyota parts because everyone here drives a freakin' Toyota! But I have no job and my hubby's credit is crap so neither of us can get a loan. I'm also weary about getting a loan. We probably could get one, but I still need a few more days of thinking about it before I can feel remotely okay with it. My hubby is not a financial wizard, but neither was I when we got married. I had to learn and while I'm still not able to make us millionares I have learned to keep us out of financial ruin. I would have liked to keep us out of debt, but have learned that I can't control my hubby's every move.......note the fact that his credit is once again mussed up.
Although I suppose things could be worse, but not really for someone raised with chronic stress. After so many years you just remain stressed......all the time. That's where I am at. I have come to realize that there is nothing really wrong with me physically......no diseases or anything......so it must be stress. I can believe that. It's not really surprising if you know my life. In fact if it was you, you would be stressed chronically too.....and probably insane at this point so I think I've done well for myself by keeping my sanity.......well, most of it at least. Now how do I relax and get rid of said stress so that it doesn't put me in an early grave?

Life on Island and Thoughts on Marriage

2007-05-03T13:01:00.000+10:00

Still no car. We got our car back, but the clutch is missing two plastic pieces that hold the shifter in place and keep the clutch from spinning. I don't know how the hubby got it home, but we are now unable to move it from the garage because you can't shift into any gear except first. We already ordered the additional parts needed and hopefully everything will be fixed before next payday. This payday we were shorted again because the Navy says we owe them money. The reality is that they owe us money, but they never got the bill for the hotel (travel pay) that we sent them SEVEN TIMES. So we have to try again. I'm determined to get my money back. It's not the end of the world but I have a tendency of letting the little things get to me. If it were life or death I would probably be calm. Strange I know, but Im used to having to deal with the big things. That and it was just a bunch of things at once that seemed to be crashing down. One of those times when you think, " Good lord, what next?" It hit me all at once the other day and I had a panic attack. All the thoughts buzzing in my head made it hard to think or hear and it felt as if someone were suffocating me. I flipped out, I cried....I wanted to scream, hit and throw, but refrained from doing so....I guess that's a good thing. Like someone said, that's island life. It takes longer to get things done. We're so used to getting everything done right and right away that we freak when it doesn't happen, but real life is inconsistent and takes time. It builds character and patience.......at least that's what I keep telling myself. Adopt the island way of thinking and just relax.
I finished the silk sweater!!!! Yea!!!! My first sweater for myself. I like it, but I don't like it on me, but I'm still happy with it. It's a little thicker then I thought it would be which makes me look a little thicker (something I don't need help with at this moment in my life......all the ladies say amen). I might tighten the bind off a little more with some more decreases. It's an off the shoulder sweater, but with the weight of the sweater it feels like it's going to be an off the body sweater if I don't tighten up the yoke. Mom, you might be getting a sweater. It's not hot and it fits great and really is a great looking sweater. Downsides are I don't like the way it looks on me and I can't throw it in the wash because it's a hand wash only type of yarn. I need to knit me something with a DK or fingering weight yarn so that it's not so thick and would prefer something like a hoodie instead of over the head, but I feel a great sense of accomplishment of finishing the sweater and having it look the way it's supposed to. I even have some yarn left over. Enough for a matching hat for winter. Happy Mother's Day mom. You know what you're getting.
I'm thinking my next project will be a sweater for the hubby. Sweater curse be darned! His ship will be taking him to a few places where it might get cold and we've talked about going to Tokyo for a family trip (if we can afford it). Possibilities for cold there too. Speaking of the hubby, we're going to be celebrating our sixth anniversary in about a month. We've only been together for six years total since we only knew each other for a few weeks before getting married. Not a long time to really know someone in the great scheme of things, but I have learned a few things. One of them being that I love my hubby. You always think you're in love when you meet someone and everything is new and exciting, but that's not love. My grandma used to tell me that you learn what love is the longer that you're married (she has more then 50 years of experience with my grandpa so she should know). She's right. I also hit the lottery when I decided to marry him. We're both the kind to try to work things out (very important for a long marriage) and he's patient enough to put up with me. He's the angel of the marriage and has worked at bettering the things that he does (like leaving his socks on the floor and putting everything on top of the refrigerator where I can't find them). And the longer I'm with him the more I realize how good of a man he is. He does things subtley and it takes time to figure him out, but once you do you realize he's a great man who loves his family. I kind of knew it when I met his family and they were warm and inviting and you could tell that they all loved him very much. There are days when I realize what I have more then others and this is one of those days so I thought I would comment on it while he's still in good standing :-)
Can't wait to have a car and some money. There are some great movies coming out this month. All the threes. Spiderman 3, Shrek 3, and Pirates 3. Good things come in threes too I guess. They're having a midnight showing of Spiderman that we were thinking of going to (but we have no car now so can't). I think I'll get together with my neighbors and have a backyard barbeque. That's one thing that I can do and is more fun anyways. Living the island life.

Yet Another Week

2007-04-28T12:45:00.000+10:00

I have spent the last two months in the house. Why you may ask? Because I have no car. Hubby takes the car to work because it's hard to get two toddlers up at five in the morning so that we can take daddy to work and because hubby complains about having to wait for us to come and get him (it's only five minutes!) In order to get a car I need a job, but in order to have a job I need a car. It's frustrating. There is also only so much that you can do on island with two kids who are too young to be out on their own for a little bit. Trips to the beach always wind up with me sitting on the beach watching the kids in the water. I would love to go on a Boonie Stomp, but I can't take the kids and they are always on Saturday and today is Saturday and guess where hubby is? At work. He's been working 12 hour days, 6 days a week. I bet if the government had to pay him overtime he wouldn't be working all these hours. He told me this morning "I'll be back around 1" which roughly translates to 6 or 7 pm. Ususally we go out and walk around the mall with the kids. I would love to be able to take them on hikes, but kids aren't allowed unless they're a certain age and my kids are nowhere near the age needed. I guess it really doesn't matter today because I am feeling sick. But I think I'm feeling sick because I need to get out and do something. I feel like I've been stuffed in a kitchen cupboard for a month. THE WALLS ARE CLOSING IN! I wish I could take my kids out back and let them play but it's a mismatch of playground parts and orange webbing. They have about a four foot square to play in and they get really tired of it really quickly. There's not even enough room to fly a kite and I have no front yard. The construction has been going on for about two months now and I'm ready for them to be done. Of course they aren't working today....because it's Saturday, but my hubby has to work. I hardly see him anymore and when he is home he keeps to himself or the kids. I don't get any time. I'm getting to the point where I don't really want any time with him becauase I'm getting so used to it (sad). And last night we had a really bad fight that ended with me being so angry I couldn't speak (which is hard to do because I have to have the last word).
I had a dream last night that I was in the states again and it felt weird. Everything here is remote unless you're in Tumon (the tourist area). We're on the southwest so we're 15 minutes from anything like a mall or movie theater, which is how I like it. When the wind blows all you can hear is the wind blowing. I wanted to go to the east side of the island today, but that's not going to happen. *sigh* I need something to do besides cleaning and knitting all day.

Almost

2007-04-27T01:03:00.000+10:00

For the past month or so my dryer has been picking and choosing when it wanted to work. Most of the time it doesn't and I run and run and run it only to still have wet clothes tumbling inside at the end of the day. Sometimes you get lucky and it works. Usually that time is when I think to call the repair guy.....then it works and I forget about calling, but the next day it's back to not working. The air is not circulating and the lint is building up on the door of the dryer instead of being passed and trapped by the lint filter. The guy came today and removed a huge bird's nest from the vent. It was huge. I think they were installing condominiums. Once finished it was working fine and I got a load dried and I was happy. Then I threw in the next load and guess what? It didn't work. And the air wasn't flowing because I went outside and checked to see if the vent door was open (which happens if the sir is flowing) and it was as closed as it could be. Then I saw that there was an egg on the ground. It was broken and there was a little bird fetus inside of it the size of a gummy bear. Now I have guilt. I went out a little later and it was gone. Probably food for the many lizards.
Progress on the silk sweater is still clipping along. I had to go back and add another cable repeat to the body because it didn't seem like it was going to be long enough. Boobs take extra fabric and most patterns don't account for D's....or C's....or even B's for that matter ( are the majority of women a B cup or less? Wish I was). I was a B cup once......when I was about 12. I don't understand women that want anything more then a C cup because it becomes a hinderance. Anyways I finished with the first arm and finished adding to the body and have attached the first arm to the piece. I'm about an inch and a half into the second sleeve and can't wait until I can join that as well and start working on the yoke. Right now the sweater is my all consuming project. I dare it not to fit once I get it done! It probably won't because I suck at math and probably didn't cast on enough stitches.
Oh well, if not I can send it to mum. It's silk so I can't throw it in the wash and have been wondering if knitting with this yarn was a wise decision or not. It's so soft though. Really soft. I have a cone of a cotton linen blend that I'm thinking of shaping into a hoodie because I really like hoodies, but it's a shade of tan and seems too boring. I have recently discovered color as a favorite and would love to have a comfy hoodie that can be worn on days when I need something a little more fashionable then my heather grey Tink hoodie that I got at Disney.
It's really raining today. We usually get a shower or two during the day, but today it's been raining off and on. It just started again and was raining earlier. I thought this was the dry season? Hmmm, I'll have to check on info. I thought winter for the states is the wet season and summer for the states is the dry season, but maybe I have it backwards. We've been having some nice days though because of the rain. Every once and awhile it gets humid, but when the clouds block the sun for a little while it cools down and feels like spring. I've been opening my window so I can get the smell of the outdoors.....something I remember from when I was a kid and mom would open the windows when the air would start to turn warm. It smells like the first few days of spring everyday. Sometimes after it rains it smells like wet dog here. I haven't figured out why that is. Probably acid rain from Asia. Why do we get Asia's pollution? We don't make enough of our own here so they have to import it I suppose. That is a downside because you have some days when it's really hazy and you can't go outside. You can, but you can't breathe too well once you're out there.

Cars and Geeks

2007-04-24T13:02:00.000+10:00

The part for the car came today. Once I get it dropped off we'll have our car back in one to two days. We might get some money back which would be really great because on the 27th Sean P is coming to the Top o' the Mar. Rumor is that it's Sean Paul and I would like to go there and see him. Top o' the Mar used to be the Officer's Club and the concert is free, but you can get dinner. They have a great Mongolian barbeque and you're on top of the hill so you can see out. In fact I have a picture that has a similar view as the Top o' the Mar does. I'm not getting my hopes up too much. I'm used to having things fall out and not being able to do things at the last minute so being able to go would just be a bonus to life.
I finally finished the body to my silk sweater and have been working on a sleeve. So diligently that my index and middle finger on my left hand have gone numb and the inside of my arm from shoulder to elbow and then around the outside of my elbow to outside of my wrist is in pain. My eyes are also doing something funny with my vision and my head feels like I've been sporting a too tight pony tail. Probably from working too long on something that's right in front of my face. You have trouble focusing on things far away right after looking up from a project. But I'm addicted so I can't stop, except to take some Tylenol and keep stitching along. I'm so close to the end that I'm working faster and faster the farther along I go. I just have to finish this sleeve, work the other one, join it all to the body and work the yoke and then I'll be all done!!!!! It seems like a lot but the body was the longest and hardest part of the whole thing and now that's done so it's just a hop, skip and jump to the end and then I'll have my first piece of knitting that I made for myself!!!! Okay not true because I did finish a pair of socks for myself ( that turned out fabulously if I might say so myself.....and I think I will), but this is the first....... larger wardrobe item. I rarely knit something for myself and have just done so recently with the socks. Everything else has been for my kids or scarves for other people. By the way , how did those scarves work for you this winter, Mom. Post comments and let me know.
I'm planning on going to Fleet Family and Support to help look for a job. Hopefully they have something in photography so I can add to my experience. Plus earning money is a bonus. Even if you're married it is nice to have your own stash of money. Although I get the feeling that I'll get stuck paying the bills while hubby uses his money on whatever he wants to spend it on. Which I probably shouldn't complain because he's more likely to buy for his kids and me then himself, but I wish he could be more money savvy. He has gotten better the longer that we've been married (which will be six years at the end of June [ I can't remember the day....go figure....hubby knows it though :-) ])
My XBox seems on the fritz which really stinks because I don't have cable right now. When you turn it on the little thing slides out to accept the CD. You put it in and push the button and it slides back in, whirs for a second and then spits it back out. It won't stay closed. Maybe it just needs to be cleaned....I hope. I miss being an asian martial artist with the power to save the Empire....yes I can be a geek at times. I embrace the geek in me! The geek in me loves Pirates of the Carribbean for the fact that it's a good story line and not just because Johnny Depp looks hot as Jack Sparrow. The geek in me loves Harry Potter and secretly wishes that world was real because I know some people at the DMV that I'd love to put a Bat Bogey Hex on. The geek in me becomes really proud when I resist the dark side and am kind to people who don't even exist and save the Empire (whether in Knights of the Old Republic or Jade Empire). Everyone has an inner geek. You know you do.

Balboa

2007-04-20T12:49:00.000+10:00

It's been a busy month. Our car broke down a few days after my last post. The clutch cable broke and we still have yet to get our car back because we're waiting for the part to come. First we had to get the money from Navy relief because our savings had to go into getting the rental car. Every auto parts store wanted $1000 for the clutch kit. We got it online for $400 (that included shipping and the clutch cable). The Navy also decided that they had paid us too much travel money so they took $600 out of our paycheck leaving us with only $600 which $300 had to go towards the rental car. I don't know how they figure that because we never got all of our money for the hotel and food that hubby was entitled to for travel. They take about six months before they get you your money, but if you owe them they'll take it all at once in your next paycheck. That's the government for you.
I'm still working slowly but steadily on my silk sweater and have about half of the body done. I should be working on my create-along project, but it sits in the corner unloved. Keeping the house clean and cooking dinner every night has trumped all lately. I've been getting kind of OCD about keeping things clean lately and just the little clutter that sits in my house is driving me crazy. Then this past Wednesday my kids were playing and Charlie fell, smacking his head on a milk crate (reinforced with steel along the edge). He had a shirt over his head and was pretending to be a ghost (he does then more often than you can imagine and is always running into walls and having us yell at him to be careful or he's going to hurt himself). He did this time and I coudn't even see his face but I knew he was bleeding by the blood curdling scream that came from him right after the thwack. He has a tiny centimeter wide cut next to his eye and it bled like crazy. We showed up at the ER looking like there had been a massacre at our house. My arms and hands were covered in blood, Charlie had it smeared all over his face and hands and hubby had bloody hand prints and smears all over his shirt. Yesterday he woke with a spectacular shiner that got worse over night and today is a vivid shade of purple. Out in public everyone wants to know what happened. Meanwhile Charlie is still bouncing around as if nothing happened and has us worried that he's going to hurt himself again. I've been to the ER with him more times then anyone and that's saying alot after growing up with a chronically ill mom. I think he's determined to be punch drunk and blind before his fifth birthday. He's always hitting his head on something and regularly pokes himself in the eyes with his own fingers and other objects. Sometimes he even puts his hand to his throat and pokes so that he'll choke (thump yourself in your throat and you'll see what I mean). Crazy child.

Storm

2007-04-02T16:50:00.000+10:00

You know how it is whenever any type of storm comes through. There is hourly overreacting news broadcasts and everyone rushes out to buy up all the candles, water and toilet paper, and to fill their car with gas. It's a little less dramatic here in Guam while we are preparing for a typhoon tomorrow. Technically it is still a tropical storm and the winds gust at about 35 miles per hour. We're only going to get the edges of it so it will stay tropical storm strength to us unless it decides to turn and go straight over us instead of Saipan. If it does hit us directly they're still only expecting 50 mph winds. I think we saw more dramatic storms almost monthly while living in Beaufort, but I have yet to see. I guess I will find out tomorrow......or around two in the morning which is 12pm est. Yeah....I'll be asleep. The only thing that urks me is my next door neighbor. The lady has five kids and all of their toys are in the backyard. She has yet to come home and put all these toys away even though it's almost midnight here. I just know that I'm going to have a big plastic tricycle blast through my bedroom window. That would really piss me off. Especially since my bedroom is on the second floor. Supposedly we have safety glass that can sustain 150 mph winds, but I'm wondering how they will fair with a coconut at 50mph. I know I wouldn't be doing too good if it hit me, but I'm not reinforced. Then there is the question of all the spikes and poles and plastic swirly slides that are still just lying around waiting to be put together just 200 yds from by backdoor (which is a full wall of glass I might add). I don't think they thought this out properly. I think I may finally get to see (up close and personal) what's been sitting in those boxes for the past month and a half waiting to be put together.
I'm ready. I have my water and all of my canned food. They say to get one gallon per person/ per day. Yeah......I've been working on a two gallon jug for the past month now and it was still only 2/3rds empty. If I drink a glass of water before I go to bed I should be good for a week. All joking aside I do have six gallons that I bought as well as 32 gallons in a plastic Rubbermaid bin and a full bathtub. I also got a rug for $20 to go in my living room at the local K-Mart while shopping for candles. I was ready for this storm about a week after moving in. Live in typhoon alley and you must be prepared for the storms to come. The wind is already starting to pick up and someone was saying that there is always an earthquake after a typhoon. Great.......a double whammy. Probably not any worse then the ones that we have already expereinced. Speaking of which there was an earthquake while I was in K-Mart and let me tell you......feeling the ground shake and watching the shelves FULL of merchandise in front of you shake and sway is not a fun way to get an adrinaline high. Slightly amusing a few hours later, but not fun at the moment.
One thing that I do have to say for Guam.......they know how to have a storm. The locals here do, anyways. It was the tourists and the transplanted Americans freaking out and running around like ants today. For the locals it was a reason to cook all those steaks in the freezer. Barbeque!!!! Lots of barbeque. I'm sure they'll be barbequing tomorrow in the wind and rain ( for reals.....it's just a leetle storm, man). That's how I feel right now. I always hated it when I lived in Virginia and they would freak out over the littlest things. Dun dun dun......noreaster! Dun dun dun.......tropical storm! Dun dun dun.......1/4 inch of snow.......shut everything down......we're going to die!!!! Stormwatch 2000! 24 hour coverage of the approaching wind from a fart from a cow in Wyoming!

Frustration

2007-03-25T14:43:00.000+10:00

Frustration is setting in. For several different reasons. First on the list is my Create-a-long project. After doing eleven rows containing two hundred and seventy two stitches each...I messed up. The last thing that I wanted to do at that point was to have to frog a row and put every single stitch back on. That and I'm completely sick of the pink that I got. I'll just have to suck it up and work on it because Easter is quickly approaching. After throwing it to the side in disgust, I did what I said I wasn't going to do and, I started a project with the Calmer. I'm making Lola a Cleeves from the Knity website. She's been running around wearing Charlie's Peter Pan pants on her arms trying to stay warm so I thought the Cleeves would be perfect and I was sure that I could eek one out of two balls of Calmer (in Tinkerbell too.....there's an irony in there).
The second is the playground. They tore it down more then a month ago and the new playground has been sitting out there in boxes since then. They are making very slow progress on it. They have managed to put in two new slides on the smaller playgrounds. The problem with the smaller playgrounds is that they are made from metal and in this heat that equals burns. I know because we have tried playing on the other playgrounds in the absence of the main playground. The other thing is that they are also working on the basketball court which is right next to the playground....so no one can play basketball either until they get done. Hopefully they'll have it done by June. The last playground was a huge wooden thing that was awesome. I would sit under the eaves on the park table bench and knit while they played and then I would chase them around in a mock game of tag. Then we would eat lunch outside and we'd go back to playing. I miss it. It was shaded enough that I could let them play outside for quite a long time before having to take them inside to cool off.. One good thing that I did this weekend was get my living room arranged into something that I'll think I'll keep for awhile because I really like it. Amanda came over on Saturday night while the hubby had duty and helped me do it. Through a process of...."maybe this...?" and "maybe that...?" we figured out what would work. Now I have a new couch that's not going to be in my living room because I decided on putting the old set back in. It's all good though because Amanda is going to teach me to sew and then I can make slipcovers for the seat cushions. It's comfy and kid friendly and I can't wait to get a rug in here so we can throw down some pillows for the kids to chill out on. Really important for those days that I have Amanda's kids because then there are four of them running around and you just want them to SIT. Now they will have a place to. Yeaaaaaa!!!!!

Ghosts

2007-03-23T11:31:00.000+10:00

I never thought that you could get so sick from being in a warm climate. They say that cold doesn't bring on illness and I have to agree. I just spent a month sick from a cold and a stomach virus that seemed to not want to leave. My kids also got this charming little bug. Once it was done I thought we were safe, but no. Now Lola has a fever that started yesterday. Charlie seemed like he was getting the same a few days earlier, but I think he may have shook it off and sent it packing.
Sick days are good days to knit (especially if I'm not the one sick). The kids sit around watching videos and sleeping and I get a chance to work on projects that have to sit on the sidelines on busier days. I'm still mulling over what to do for my create-a-long. I'm still working on the ruffle which is not surprising since there are 272 sts until I get to the tenth row and start decreasing to make the ruffle. And that's just one side.....*sigh* That and I got the exact same color in Tahki that I had in my stash. The same pink that I was getting sick of looking at. I really want to get it done before Easter, but my complete lack of motivation to work on it makes me wonder if I will reach my goal.
I had to get a blood test today. Ugh! I'm a hard stick and always leave with more then one hole in my arm.....hand....wrist. I have a beautiful bruised bump on my hand that burns and hurts because they blew the vein at the last second of drawing. At least they got it.
I had a dream about flying last night. Dreams are the one reason why I can never take a sleeping pill. I tried it so I could get a good nights sleep, but it gave me a hangover and I didn't dream. I have a dream every night. Usually more then one and I can't imagine not having one, but then getting sleep is important too....I suppose. I love dreams about flying. But why are you unable to take off again after you land? It's maddening. Sometimes I have dreams that wind up happening and that's kind of weird at times. In fact the other night I was at Amanda's and we were sitting on her front porch so she could have a smoke. I suddenly realized that I had done this before....kind of like deja vu.....except I knew that I had had a dream about sitting there with her while she smoked a few months earlier. Sometimes people walk up to me in a dream and say "such and such is going to happen" and then it will.....usually the next day. Maybe I only notice it when it does happen or maybe it's a gift....I don't know. I'm skeptical when it comes to things like that. People in the neighborhood think that the houses here are haunted because it was built over a site where they dumped the bodies during World War 2. If you think about it though, every house is built over a site where someone died. There are things that happen that are kind of weird. You hear groans downstairs....hubby said it sounds like the Grudge. We usually shrug our shoulders and go back to doing what we were doing. Sometimes at night I hear something loud bang and then when I go looking to find what fell I can't find anything. I have personally witnessed the television turn off and then ten minutes later turn back on by itself. Hubby was standing there talking to me when it did. THAT did cause us to pause and wonder. I also saw something fly from the back of the top of my armoire onto the floor. But then we got a cat and I just blame it all on her now. Anything weird....things moving or noises.....Oh the cat did it. I also figure as long as we're not physically harmed or see a disembodied floating head.....then everything is alright.

Knitting, knitting, knitting.....and thoughts on kids

2007-03-22T15:44:00.000+10:00

I've been busy knitting and going to the doctor lately so I haven't posted in awhile. In the past week or so I have recieved another yarn package, this time from kyarns. I got two balls of Rowan Calmer in Tinkerbell and two skeins of KPPM, one of which I have been fashioning into a sock since yesterday. The two skeins of Koigu are different colors that I got as a sort of test to see if I like working with it and to see if I like the colors that I got. So far I can only rave that it's going to make excellent socks. I'm going to make one in each color and then I'll order the matching skeins to make matching socks. I can't wait to work with the Calmer, but for now it has to wait because I have my Create-A-Long project that I need to get a good start on before I can take on any more projects. The silk sweater is still coming along a few rows at a time and I'm hoping I can start on the sleeves soon. I have a few projects on hold until I can find my camera because I want to take some pictures of the before skeins and then have the project during construction and then later a pic of the finished project.
Besides that I've been sick and finally went to the doctor this week. Yesterday I was fortunate enough to have a blood test done (blahhhh!). It was one that you have to fast for, which is never good because if they have to dig for a vein, that and the combination of low blood sugar makes me feel sick and lightheaded. I never make it out of the lab without more then one hole punched in my arm (or hand or wrist). Yesterday was no exception....one in the arm and one in the top of each hand for a grand total of three! The last sight was in the hand and it blew at the last second so I had a painful burning bump on the top of my hand for a few hours. I prefer that over having to get a finger stick or getting my blood pressure taken anyday though.
Charlie has been busy watching Christmas movies all day. I find this amusing and my family will know why. I get the Christmas bug as soon as the weather starts getting warm and I used to spend a good majority of my summer vacation watching old Christmas home videos or Christmas movies. I haven't been able to get into the Christmas spirit for a few years now. I've been in warm climates during Christmas and this year was no exception. Even watching the old movies just doesn't do it for me. This year was even worse because it was such a mad scramble to get the Christmas decorations out after we moved in and then it was 86 degrees Christmas Day.......just like it's 86 degrees everyday here. Not that it matters right now because there are nine months until December, but I found it amusing that my son has taken after me in that respect.
Charlie's going to be three soon and Lola is five which means she'll start school next year. They are growing so fast! The thought occured to me last night that soon she'll be six and then seven and she'll be practically a little lady and I had that panicked feeling that I just wanted her to stay little. But you can't stop them from growing and part of the fun of being a parent is getting to watch what kind of person they become as they get older. It's still kind of sad. A lot of women here are pregnant (they are at any base you go to) and even my friend Amanda is pregnant. I'll never have another baby.....the hubby took care of that. We agreed two was enough, but every once and awhile you get that baby fever. When I think about it beyond just holding a cute sleeping baby though, I'm glad we made the decision to have only two because kids are a lot of work (and strain on your sanity).

Spiders!!!!

2007-03-17T01:44:00.000+10:00

Still no camera, but if I did have it I would take a picture of this HUGE spider that is hanging out on the building at the gate of where I live. I came home from taking hubby to work the other morning and s I drove up to the gate I saw something brown and about the size of my hand sitting in the top corner. The gate guard kept eyeballing it looking extremely wary. When I stopped my car so he could check my ID, I saw what it was. It was a HUGE, FREAKIN' SPIDER!!!!!!!!! It had a body about the size of two gummy bears smushed butt to butt and it had long spindly legs. It looked CREEPY!!!! I asked the guard," What the heck is that thing?" and he said "I don't know, but I'm keeping an eye on it." I would too. I quickly put my window up in case the thing decided to jump ( because I really don't think I would want to live if something like that EVER jumped on me). It reminded me of that face hugger in Alien. Bluuuuahhhh! It was still there today hanging on the light. I think it's here to stay. I found it on the internet at www.whatsthisbug/spider6.html
It's the fourth picture down. That's exactly the same size and everything. Apparantly they eat cockroaches. I can't stop shuddering when I think about it. The thought of one of those things crawling across my floor just.......bluuuuahhhhhh! Hubby said if he was standing gate duty he would have killed it already. I wouldn't even mess with it. What if you missed? If it even came at me I would be scarred for life. For the rest of my life you could call me "Twitchy". And if it actually made contact with any part of my body I think I would have to kill myself. There would be no getting over that. The reat of my life would be spent reliving that moment and being thoroughly creeped out. I didn't know there were bugs that big!!!! Ahhhhhhhh! It was HUGE!!!! Did I mention it was HUGE and CREEPY???!!!!! Okay I'm going to stop so I can try to go to bed. My whole body is twitching in freaked outedness! Bluuuuuahhhhhhhh!
By the way anyone reading my blog can feel free to leave comments. Please. Check out that website and look at that spider and try not to shudder. I dare you!!!!

Small Socks.....take 2

2007-03-14T01:19:00.000+10:00

Okay, I still haven't fixed the smaller sock that I made for Charlie....and I haven't started on the second sock for Charlie, but guess what? While I was cleaning and emptying more boxes downstairs I found a sock...that I don't remember knitting, but obviously I did because it's the companion to Lola's sock that I thought I hadn't knitted a companion to. At first I thought it was the original, but then I saw that it was clean. after staring at it in wonder for about ten minutes I went in search of the original and found that this was indeed the sock partner. During my ten minutes of duh I remembered knitting it and now I can't say that I've never knitted a pair of socks.....because I have.....even when I thought I hadn't.
I was lucky and got my shipment of Tahki and Kidsilk for the createalong. After fiddling with the Kidsilk I had only one word for it, and it was a long word......ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH! Does the madness never end?! I did finally get the hang of it once I got it started, but still. Such....tiny.....string.......blag! I realized that I coudn't make up my mind on how to use it on the dress so I would just omit it for now. An idea may come to me later, but I have a feeling it's going to require smaller needles that I will have to purchase. Size 4's seem to work good, but I think 3's would be even better and I would prefer circulars instead of the long straight needles that I have in those sizes (Mom, I think my 3 circulars are with you).
Either way, I'm hoping to have the dress done in time for Easter. It's pink (so very pink *shudders*) so I think it will make a good Easter dress although I think the hubby has designs to buy her one anyways. He can buy Charlie something......or maybe I'll make him a kickin' new vest to wear over his white, shortsleeved, button down shirt.