Thursday, August 27, 2009
I May Have Lost My MiNd
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.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
The Sock Gnome Strikes Again
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
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.
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.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Why I Love My Dear Hubby
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.
"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.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
SWEEEEEEET!
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.
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.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Full Circle
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!
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!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas to You
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 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).
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