Holiday stuff

The first snow of the season!! Doesn't it look pretty.Last Friday evening it snowed and this is what my yard looked like Saturday morning :)




On Tuesday, Frisco's Christmas gift was delivered. What is it with cats and cardboard boxes? He just has to check it out.









Frisco is getting a bathroom upgrade for his Christmas present. :)





Wednesday night was my knitting groups 2nd annual Cookie Swap! We each had to bring 7 dozen cookies because there was suppose to be something like 35 people there. I have no idea if 35 people were there or not, but it was a good time and I came home with some great cookies. I have been so good too! I haven't eatten any of the cookies yet! I'm being a tad lazy this year, since I'm not going to be here for Christmas. I'm taking most of these cookies home to NY with me so that Mom doesn't have to bake. She's having the family over for Christmas dinner so that will be enought cooking for her. I will also pack a small tin of cookies to take with me to Chicago for Mr. X. Oh, I baked Triple Chewy Chocolate Cookies, and can I just say OMG they are rich! I got the recipe of a friend of mine who loves to bake. I can only eat one cookie and I have to have a HUGE glass of ice cold milk to wash it down.

OH! I finished my cardigan just in time to wear to the party!!





I also received my Winter Wonderland Swap package this week from my pal in Las Vegas! Check out the cool things she sent me!! I love the snowman ornament. It won't be in the tree this year because I'm not putting up a tree since I won't be here over the holidays. I know, depressing. Never really feels like Christmas to me without a tree, but if I'm not going to be here to enjoy it then why bother?? Anyhoo, check out that yarn! That color it sooooooo me!! Thank you Alexis!!

Christmas Classics!

A new twist on an old classic!

Just Precious

Pictures from Thanksgiving! Unfortuntely, I don't have too many because the batteries died in my camera, but my sister was nice enough to send me the ones her DH took. Because Maya was only a week old, she wasn't able to leave the house, so we dropped in on the new Mommy and Daddy about once a day. Maya mostly slept and when she woke up, she was fed to get her weight back up. While I was there Friday afternoon I got to feed and burp her. I don't think Nonni or Grandpa's even had the chance to feed her yet :) Luckily she had just been changed before I got there! *hee-hee* Maya's a little peanut. I think she is the smallest baby I've ever heald.



Since no one knew if it was going to be a boy or a girl I held off on my knitting. Once Maya was born I had a field day looking for patterns and yarn for all the little goodies to knit for her. First up is the Just Ducky hat and booties. My cousin Cesidio, who was also asked to be Maya's Godfather, was appauled by this outfit... "My goddaughter is NOT going to wear a duck on her head!" but the rest of my family out voted him - including the Mommy & Daddy *hee-hee* Right now the hat and booties are a tad to big for her.


Pattern: Just Ducky from P2Designs
Yarn: Knitpicks Swish DK & KnitPicks Merino Style
Needles: Lantern Moon DPN
Modifications: None

I also had to knit her first sweater! Complete with tag and all :) I had bought those tags years ago and I can't remember from where. The tag reads "Made with Tender, Loving Care by Dorothy" I found them again as I was rummaging through my stash to find yarn for this project. I need to remember to pack one to put on Baby M's sweater next time I go up there. This shrug was knit up in just a few hours!


Pattern: Baby Shrug from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby
Yarn: Berroco Lullaby
Needles: KnitPicks, size 8, 16"
Modifications: None

Yenta or Shadchan?

No, I'm not Jewish, but apparently my assistant, R, must have been in her former life. She is contently asking me this or that about my love life and if I'm not giving her answers, which I hardly do because I don't really know her all that well, she's trying to get the information out of my assistant, who I've worked with for the last seven years. Much to this woman's chagrin, Carleen doesn't tell her anything. Carleen and I find it humorous that she will ask us each about the other, but will hardly ever directly asks us those question. It drives Carleen absolutely batty!

Anyhoo, getting back to the Shadchan part. *For those of you that do not know, yenta is the Yiddish word for busybody and shadchan is the Yiddish word for matchmaker - if I am incorrect in my translation please correct me!*

So, a few weeks ago, my team (minus Carleen because she was out that day) and I were sitting down eating lunch and just chit-chatting away. Another co-worker, Ms. P, comes in to shoot the shit with us and she wanted to show us pictures of her son. Her SINGLE son *you see where this is going yet?* This co-worker is a little Italian woman that is tickled pink to have another Italian to talk to at work.

The light bulb went off in R's head and she ask "Is you son single?" Of course he is. Then, before I really know how it happened P was telling me all about her son. I just wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. Oh, did I mention the fact that he's teaching English over in Korea! He's not even in the states! Yeah, just what I need. Luckily, just as I think P was trying to actually get a firm answer out of me of if I was truly interested, my cellphone rang. *saved by the bell, literally* The humorous part of that was that it was Mr. X calling.

The next day, I was telling Carleen the story and I don't think she could believe it all, but when Ms. P came by for her morning coffee and referred to me as her "future-daughter-in-law" I thought Carleen's eyes were going to pop out of her head when she looked at me. I had to leave the back office.

I think Carleen must have said something to R because it was never mentioned again, until today when Ms. P asked me what I was doing over winter break because he son might be coming home for Christmas. ACK!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Winners and more

OK, first let me post the winners to the contest. I let Frisco dig into the bag and which ever piece of paper came out was the winner. Unfortunately, when I went to go take pictures of this the batteries died *ugh* So now I have to write myself a note and stop at the store on the way home to pick up batteries so I can take pictures of my new niece this weekend!! I'm heading to NY tonight, so this will probably be my last post till I get back.

Getting back to Frisco... It probably wasn't the best idea to let him pick, but since I don't have any kids at home to use as prize drawers I had to improvise. As he was playing around in the bag TWO pieces of paper fell out, so there are two winners. Congrats to Kati Mae and Heather! I have contacted you both and awaiting your response :)

In knitting news - I had finished the Baby Bolero for Baby M a while ago, but I haven't posted about it till now. I would have waited till I got a picture of Baby M wearing, but I still haven't received a picture of her wearing the dress or the hat. So, I'm not going to hold my breath on this one either. I'm very pleased with how this came out and I'm stash searching for more DK yarn to make an even smaller on for Maya.


Pattern: Children's Neck Down Bolero from Knitting Pure and Simple
Yarn: Wullernstudio DK Merino (1.5 skeins) specially dyed for this project
Needles: Knit Picks Options, size 6
Modifications: I went down in yarn weight and needle size to make a smaller sweater since Baby M is wearing size 18 months. Beatrix Potter button

I have also start to really buckle in on my holiday knittings. I cranked out 2 gifts this weekend. First up is the Impressionist Cowl for my younger sister. She will also be getting some baby things - obviously. The pattern was easily memorized and knit up in a day! I want to make a second on with just the top pattern and leaving off the waves at the bottom. I like the colorway of the yarn too!


Pattern: Impressionist Cowl (Ravlink)
Yarn: Reynolds Harvest Tweed (1.5 skeins)
Needles: Knit Picks, size 10
Modifications: none

Nexy up is the Birthday Cowl for Zia Franca. This was an easily memorized pattern as well and knit up in a day and a half. This yarn is super soft! I have a few more skeins in my stash in other colors, so I may be making a few more of these :)


Pattern: Birthday Cowl (Ravlink)
Yarn: Frog Tree Merino (1 skeins)
Needles: Knit Picks, size 8
Modifications: none

The new happy family :) I still can't believe my baby sister just had a baby!



Isn't she precious! I know, I'm slightly prejudice toward her. She's my niece :)



My sister just looks so serene in this picture.



I can't believe she found her thumb already! Isn't that too cute!



I can't wait to go home for Thanksgiving and hold her!

I want one *sigh*

Contest!!

In honor of my achieveing National Board Certification I think a contest is in order!!

Leave a comment about a teacher who affected you positively and if you are a teacher you can choose that or to leave a funny teaching story :)

Mention the contest and your blog - let me know that in your post as well, and you will be entered into the number pot 2X!!

Contest will close at 8pm on Sunday :)

I PASSED!!!!!

For those of you who remember my struggles with the National Board Certification process for teachers that I was trucking through the last two years - my journey has ended!!!

About 5pm last night, I got the official email that said scores were being released mid-morning on Friday, November 21, 2008. "CRAP! That's tomorrow" is what ran through my mind when I read that.

Got to work this morning and realized I had forgotten to bring my candidate ID number! *FUCK* I can't check my scored without that!! I rummaged my office to find old copies of the entries because I knew the ID number was all over those entries. Thankfully, I found it.

Went to the site and of course, tried to log in at 7:15 this morning. *Well, that could be mid-morning somewhere!*

I then contact my two girlfriends who also went through the process to see how they were holding up.

Every time I walked by my computer, I tried to log in. Till at 9 AM when I got it! I dropped down in my chair and said a little pray and hit button. First thing I saw:

"Congratulations!
You are a National Board Certified Teacher®!"

I screamed! I have no idea what the rest of the letter said, hell I still haven't even bothered to look at what score I got - I PASSED!!! And that was all that mattered to me :)

*continues to do the happy dance around my office*

It's a Girl!!

Maya Grace
Born Wednesday, November 19, 2008 and weighing in at 6 lbs. 11 oz. She entered this world in 20 minutes flat!

World - meet Baby Maya



The New Daddy



The proud Grandmas



The proud Grandpa (I was told my father cried the minute he laid eyes on her)



I cannot wait to hold her in my arms.

Christmas with Achmed

Back from Chicago!

I am back from Chicago, and missing them both so very much already. I was able to visit with Baby M several times while I was out there. She was a hoot to watch and play with! She took a few minutes to warm up to the crazy lady that was in Daddy's house, but a few short smiles later and she warmed up to me. She is such a happy, playful baby! And he is so good with her. I mean, do you know of any man that would stick a baby bottle nipple on his forehead just to get a laugh out of his child? (third picture in the top row)

This was her first Halloween so Mr. X carved a pumpkin that she had picked out the weekend before when he took her to a pumpkin patch. She was so curious about the jack-o-lantern. It was so cute watching her be curious about it. When she was getting excited she would lean on the pumpkin and wiggle back and forth on her toes.

She seems to have this thing for climbing up and down the stairs. She just finds them so entertaining, though she nearly gave me a heart attack because there were several times she tried to climb down the stairs instead of crawling down backwards! I thought she was going to go tumbling head first. She's also learned to clap so all you have to do is smile and start clapping and she returns the favor. Anyhoo, I could go on and on about how cute she is.

There was a point in the weekend where I thought things might go a little more along the lines that I am hoping. In all the time that we've been together Mr. X had never cuddled up to me in his sleep. It's usually the other way around, but Friday night he reached for me and pulled me closer to him while he was sleeping. It was so out of the ordinary that it startled me awake. I thought this was a good sign, so I just snuggled closer and went back to sleep. Saturday morning we did some talking and well that thought was blown clear out of the water. I would have thought that things would have gotten a little better after all this time. *God sure is having a good laugh at my expense*

Saturday we did a little shopping. I dragged him kicking and screaming to a yarn shop. OK, so he wasn't really kicking and screaming. Actually he was pretty good and he picked out a skein of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in a pretty fuschia color for Baby M. Now I just need to find a pretty hat pattern for it. Afterwards we went to Michaels to find a box of Precious Hands. We went looking for this on my last visit, but they were all sold out. I had made two of these for my older sister - one for each niece. I think it's a neat way to rememeber just how small the cherubs were, especially when they start driving you nuts asking for the car or sneaking out of the house *grin* That reminds me, I need to pick up another one for when my baby sister has her little one :)

After Micheals we swung by Joann's to see if I could find a button for the Neckdown Bolero jacket I was knitting for Baby M. I didn't find one. I found these four and I cannot decide which one I like best. I think I'm leaning toward the Beatrix Potter ones. What do you think?



Speaking of the bolero, I did not get to finish it on my trip. Turns out I had more fun playing with Baby M :) I did get to try it on her when I was at this point:



Just a tad bigger then she is now, but she should still be able to wear it. I managed to finish one whole sleeve before I left. I did, however, manage to finish this hat for Baby M before I left. Of course, Mr. X just had to try it on - oh I so wish I had my camera out when he did! He looked like such a Dork! *laugh*

The highlight of my whole weekend was right here:

Back

I'm back, just waiting on some pictures, hopefully, then I'll post an update :)

Blame it on My Niece!

*LAUGH*

Too many things on needles!

I know I said I would get updates posted on Thursday, but you all should know me by now! I'm a little late when it comes to bloggin'.

First up is the Moss Bark Shirt Sleeved Cardigan. It's all sewn together, but I can't seem to get the collar band right. I may have to rip it out and knit it again. Finally a piece of knitting that I can wear!! I have been making things as gifts for year that aside from 2 pairs of socks, I do not have anything that i have knit for myself! I want to get this collar right so that I can take this on my trip to the Windy City on Wednesday.


You all know I made the Fairy Blanket for niece Jules. Well she has an older sister Gabbi and I promised her that I would make her a blanket this year. So, here is Gabbi's Ocean as I have dubbed it :) The pretty blue-green teal colors of a clear Caribbean ocean *not that I have ever seen one YET in my life, but one day* At first she told me blues and I thought - perfect! I have several blues in my stash! Thank goodness I didn't start right away, because my older sister went our shopping and found a beautiful comforter for Gabbi in the Teal and Seafoam green colors you see below. I was shocked when we found the exact matching colors in yarn!! I am on round seven on this crochet project. I should be working on it more that I have been, but Christmas is still 57 days away *HOLY SHIT!!* OK, so I better get to hooking or I'll still be crocheting this blanket come Christmas Eve!!


Apparently, Frisco is trying to claim this blanket as his own. What he doesn't seem to realize is that Gabbi is bigger than him and solid muscle. She's built like a brick house just like my father. Man, I wish he had passed on those genes to me instead of the boobs!

This skein of yarn was a gift from my friend Stacey for helping her out with a group on ravelry and for my limited tech savvy skills when it comes to graphics. It's a skein of Sheila's yarn, KnitsWithSticks, in, at the time, her newest color! The colorway is called Woolly Bully in purples and greys. Sheila knew these were my colors too and tempted me with a skein of this at one of our Wednesday night S'nB nights. Stacey saw my reaction to color and bought one for me, and then Sheila dyed a deeper color skein for me since she knows I like the darker colored skein. Aren't friends great!!

I love her yarn and this colorway so much that I just had to cast on with it. Since I already had 4 pairs of socks on needles, I decided to make a lace scarf with it. The pattern is the Tiger Eyes Scarf. These colors are perfect!! I'm farther along then this photo,but I don't have an updated photo yet :)



OK, so remember that Christmas list I made up of what I was going to make for everyone? yeah, well they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions! That list will be changing - A LOT! I guess I was a little over ambitious when I created it. Now I'm thinking I'm going to make my family all new Christmas stockings. I have no idea how long my Mother's had the ones she's been using, but it's about time for new ones. So, I cast on and I'm about 1/3 of the way down the leg of this stocking.



Here are the socks that I've been mentioning. First up are the Red Dwarf socks. Ever watch that show on BBC?? Smeggin' hysterical! I can't seem to find it on my cable guide though :( I was going to purchase the DVD box set of the show till I saw the $140 price tag. Not right now!! I just realize I goofed when I was knitting up the toes, but oh well. These are just for me so they don't have to be perfect, just as long as my toeseys are warm!



I have also been fondling this Jitterbug yarn since the night I bought it at the Elenganza Midnight Madness sale. So, I went ahead and cast on the Falling Leaves socks. Because the yardage of Jitterbug is so skimpy, I went Toe-up, 2-@-a-time. I am lovin' how this yarn knits up. There's a bit of pooling going on. What I think is funny is that because I am doing 2-@-a-time and knitting from both ends of the skein it's pooling on the top of one sock, but on the bottom of the other! Well, there will certainly be no mistaking these are hand made! I just sooooooo Lu-huv this colorway!!



Rember these Horcrux Socks??



Well, they now look like this! I went to go try them on again before I started the heel flap and they were too small!! *CRY* So, to the frog pond they went, rip, rip, rip and cast on a second time. That's OK though. They knit up pretty fast, but I doubt I'll be wearing them on Halloween this year. Oh well.



My last pair of socks are the Classic Sock for my dad. These have been on my needles forever! The yarn is so thin and the direction call to cast on 96!! But, I have knit the heel flap, turned the heel and just about done with the gusset! Now I'm worried that I might not have enough yarn!! The pattern called for 1 skein, so that's all I have! The leg was suppose to be 9", but I stopped at 7". I still don't know if I have enough to finish the feet though!! YIKERS! These will be Dad's Christmas present along with some Benny Hill CDs I found for him.



As much as I love Sheila and the yarn that she dyes, it can be very dangerous for me to be her friend! *laugh* I want to make this Children's Neck Down Bolero Jacket for Baby M when I go visit Mr. X. I couldn't find a colorway that I really liked for this pattern, so what does one do when they have a friend who is in the dying business? Well DUH! I asked Sheila if she could dye some of her DK weight yarn to the colors I wanted. I know that pink and lavender are really good colors on Baby M, so I pointed out the shades that I liked from the colorways that she already creates and asked her to mix those specific shades of purple and pink together and this is the gorgeous yarn that she created for me! This is yarn is sooooooooooooooooooo soft!!



My knitting group was having a class/KAL for this Bolero jacket, so I signed up and Sheila had my yarn all dyed up for me by Wednesday. I swatched and was ready to go! The pattern called for a worsted weight and the smallest size on the parttern was 2T. Baby M is only 10 months old, so asfter talking to Sheila, and very experienced knitter, we though a think weight yarn on smaller needles would do the trick. Hence the DK weight. I cast on and followed the pattern for the 2T with the DK weight yarn. By the time the class was over I have knit up to the point of the sleeve divide. When I took a look at it, I knew it was going to be too small. When I talked to Mr. X last night I asked what size Baby M was in and he told me she's in 18 months already. So, to the Frog Pond went all the knitting I had done today and I will need to recast-on one of the larger sizes. I think I will knit as far as the sleeves again and then wait to try it on her Thursday night before I try and finish the whole thing. If I try it on her on Thursday I should be able to finish it by Sunday.

While I was on the phone with him, he maded the suggestion that I knit her a new hat since all the ones I had knit for her last year are too small. He suggested a dark pink. Can you believe that I don't think I have any dark pink wool in my stash! *GASP* So, I just might have to drag Mr. X to a local yarn shop up there and he can pick out the perfect shade of pink and I'll whip up a hat while I'm out there :) Hopefully, I won't hear too much groaning out of him when I drag him there *giggle*

You know it's funny. I can get the feeling that people appreciate the things I make for them, but sometimes I can never really tell if they truely appreciate it or just being nice. Of course when people ask me for things, I know. So, if felt good when he asked.

Friday night I went out to dinner with my friend Stacey and then we hung out at my place. She brought me these sock blockers that she made!! Aren't they adorable? I keep telling her she needs to open up her own business and sell these!

We went to Five Guys for burgers. YUMMY!! Talk about a hamburger that's good enough to give you a heart attach - no joke! Which is why I go there VERY infrequesntly :)



We had a really good talk and she gave me a lot to chew on.

Stacey,
Thank you so much for the talk/advise on Friday night. You are so right about what I should do and about the fact that I'm scared to do it. Of course, knowing and squealching the fear to do it are two completely different things. Maybe we'll have to have another chat when I get back.
*HUGS*

14 Months!!

Yeah for me!! It's been 14 months since my last cigarette. *does a little happy dance - careful not to twist her knee*

Now, if I could just get Mr. X to quit too! Speaking of, all is getting better slowly. The few days of a liquid diet seems to have settled his pancreas without having to be admitted to the hospital. *phew*

Oh, my knee. Well, the MRI came back clean. The orthopedic couldn't see any tear in the meniscus on the MRI. Apparently that doesn't take it out of the running completely. He said there could be a little tear that just isn't showing up, but he doesn't was to go head on into arthroscopic surgery just yet. He'd rather we try a less evasive approach, which I am ALL FOR! So, I am on anti-inflamitory drugs and in physical therapy for the month. If that works, GREAT. If not, he want to try a cortisone shot and then if that doesn't work he'll go in with a camera and take a look-see. Personally, I want to be done at the PT level :)

Knitting updates will be posted tonight :)

Uh-oh, Slap Happiness Setting In...

I've had little to no sleep for two nights now and what little sleep I did get was not very restful. Now my usual slap-happiness is setting in and silliness is on the horizon. Ever get that was, just total silliness setting in because your brain just cannot function with such little rest? *Oh yeah, I'm there and it's only 9AM!*

Sunday night Mr. X took a trip to an Urgent Care facility because he's been having some pains in the abdominal for a couple of days and it seems to have gotten worse instead of better. The pain was now beginning to bother his back (he had back surgery several years ago). He also had a really bad gall bladder infection about two years ago and it had to be removed. I can only guess that the pains seemed similar in nature and location which triggered something in him to look further into it. That and the fact that he is now a daddy and can't afford the luxury of putting off.
So, I guess while baby Maddy was napping, he went online and looked up his symptoms and came to the conclusion that it was his pancreas that was bothering him. He called to let me know that he was going to Urgent Care after he brought Maddy home.

Urgent Care didn't have the equipment to run further tests on him, so they gave him a shot for the pain and sent him to the ER. That's when anxiety starting to set in for me. I know that his father died from pancreatic cancer and that this heightens his risk (among other risk factors he either doesn't know or chooses to ignore - knowing him, it's the ladder) I'm not very good with staying calm when it comes to these types of things. I tried to be calm on the phone with him with all this knowledge flooding my brain at once, but I guess I don't do a very good job of keeping it out of my voice because he seemed to be trying to calm my anxiety by saying something along the lines of - I'm sure it's nothing serious, just an infection that antibiotics will clear up. - Or maybe his repeating that out loud was a way to keep his anxiety down. Didn't think of that till just now, but could be.

Anyhoo, I tossed and turn and woke up every half hour or so till he called me around 1:30 Monday morning to let me know that he was done at the ER and they couldn't say conclusively what was going on with him, but his sugar levels were crazy. He was to see his regular doctor in the morning. Since they couldn't pin-point exactly what was going on with him, his sister brought up the pancreatic cancer and the ER doctor told them that his regular doctor will need to run tests for that. So, yeah, my anxiety went up a few notches after that phone call. I so wish I could have been up there with him.

Then yesterday, since I didn't know what time he was going to the doctor and didn't know if he was sleeping in after all that, I sent him a text to let me know about his appointment and all else. I turned up the volume on my phone and left it on my work desk, but I still didn't hear it when it rang. Of course I heard the beep that let me know I had a voicemail. He called to let me know he was at work and that his appointment was around noon and that he would definitely call me afterwards to let me know what was going on.

When I got home from work it was around 4PM and I still hadn't heard anything. When I worry, I eat. I tossed around the idea of calling or texting him, but he said he would call me when he was done with the doc and I didn't want to call while he was in with the doc. When he didn't call me by 6:30 pm, my anxiety had peaked and I called. When I got his voicemail I was stunned, thinking he must still be with the doctor. I ate anything I could find in my house from the about 4 till he finally called me 8:30 PM. Thank goodness there was no junk food in my house last night!

When he finally called I was relived to hear that he was home, but then threatened to beat the living shit out of him when he told me he left the doctor's around 3:30 PM. He pretty much crashed as soon as he got home. I was just so relieved that he was home that I just couldn't stay mad. I'm soooooooo not good with holding grudges. Turns out he had pancreatitis and has to be on a liquid diet for a day or two days and hopefully that will settle down his pancreas and then he can slowly start to introduce solids back into his diet again.

He was a little punchy last night as well. Probably stress relief. I had worried myself right into a migraine. Wow, did it hit me about half an hour after I got off the phone with him. I guess once the tension left my body the migraine felt that it could take over.

You know your in bad shape when the first thing out a a co-workers mouth when they see you is, "You look like shit." So, two night will little sleep, lots or worrying and now I have a day of the giggles. My poor coworkers.

My New Spread!!

OK, so it's really a quilt. I have been wanting to change my bedding for a while, but it's been hard to find something that matches the red accent wall in my room. I also knew I wanted a quilt and not a comforter. It's very hard to find a quilt that is black, white and red colors without being too country looking. If I knew how to quilt, I probably would have made my own, but I don't. So the hunt began. I came across this quilt set in TJ Maxx last time I was in NY. I bought it. For $30 it was a steal. Not sure I'm totally crazy about it, but for $30 it will work until I find exactly what I am looking for OR until I feel like repainting the accent wall in my room to another color :)

What a Week!

What a week this has been! Between the the weight of the decision to take a trip to the Windy City, the pressure to knit a baby blanket in a week, high school assessment (HSA) testing all week at work, and two doctors visits in a week... I am so glad it's the weekend! I need a drink!

The media center was closed each morning this past week for HSA testing. The ESOL students and students who had extended time as accomodations were taking the test in the media center. We hung a sign, big as day, in the door window that announced the media center being closed for testing. Can I tell you what I discovered this week about my high school students? THEY CAN'T READ SIGNS! The sign was 24" X 36" and it covered the WHOLE window in the door. The doors were also locked so that people couldn't wander into the center. (Test confidentiality is such a huge deal). Kids were still raddling and banging on the door to get in - completely ignoring the sign on the door! Unbelieveable!

The blanket is finished! The pattern was quick and easily memorized, but when you are under a deadline it kind of takes the enjoyment out of it. Here it is


Pattern: Zig Zag Eyelet Throw (Ravelry)
Yarn: Berella So Soft (2.5 skeins)
Needles: Knit Picks Options, size 9
Modifications: The pattern calls for double stranding the yarn. Since I wanted a baby blanket and not a full size one, I simply did a single strand of yarn and it worked out perfectly.

I went for the MRI on Friday. Now that was a crazy day for me! I went into work in the morning. Put in 2 hours of work and then headed back home for the MRI appointment and then I had to head cross county to get tot a work meeting for the afternoon! I will get the results of the MRI when I see the Orthopedic on Wednesday.

My knee seems to be so-so. It has it's good and bad days depending on I don't know what! Getting up from a sitting position has gotten a bit tricky. I kind of have to prepare myself to try and avoid the "stuck" feeling when straightening my leg and that helps to avoid the sharp, shooting pain that accompanies that if I try to move to fast. It would appear, from all the researching that I've been able to do so far, that I most likely have a torn meniscus. What I did or how I did it, I haven't a clue, but the more I read up on it the more I think that's what is wrong with my knee. And since I have the stiffening and the popping, it looks like I didn't do a half-ass job in tearing it. *sigh* You know, there are some things in my life that I really, really wouldn't mind doing half-assed, and injuring myself would be right up there. But no, when I do something, I have to do it all the way. Depending on where exactly that tear has happened will probably be the determining factor between PT and surgery. Not particularly thrilled with that concept. From what I could find, if the tear is on the outer edge of the meniscus (where there is more of a blood flow) then with proper treatment, the tear can heal itself, but if the tear is more in the center of the meniscus, then I am pretty much shit-outta-luck. There is little to no blood flow in that area and the meniscus cannot heal itself. I am so praying the tear is on the outter edge.

Either way, it looks like my excercising at Curves will not be returning anytime soon. I will also need to start looking aroung my area for water aerobic excersise. That's about as low-impact as you can get, I think. Once I've dropped the weight I've gained back from the surgery imobility and strengthened my knee a little more then I can think about getting back in to a gym for weights.

I spent most of today cleaning the upstairs floor of my house. You know, one of those really "good" type of cleanings. I had all the windows open upstairs to air the place out. I was a gorgeous day and now one that should have been spent indoors, but I haven't been able to really clean my house the last few months and it really needed it. It was one of those cleanings where you actually move things around to dust and wipe down all the things that stay out on the furnture. It was one of those cleanings where you moved the stationary furtinure around a bit so that you can vacuum up all the dust bunnies, or in my case Frisco hair, that you normally don't get to in the weekly vacuuming routine. Heck I even cleaned all the dust on the ceiling fans! My tummy area is now telling what a stupid idea it was to move all that furniture around myself. I think I'm going to have to give the GYN a call on Monday. She cleared me on all accounts and said I could return to exercising and to just ease into it - or course with the knee situation I haven't had the chance to make it back to Curves yet. But there are days when that area just just feel up to par. There are some days I get these little pangs on the inside. The best way I can describe them - if I were pregnant I would swear the little guy was pinching me on the inside. Just quick little zingers that don't linger long. Pressure still bothers it too. Frisco can't lay on my stomach for very long before it starts to bother me. I have no idea if this normal, if the inside portion takes longer to heal then the outside. All my gf that have had abdominal surgery have all had hysterectomies not myomectomies. Well, no sense in frettin' till I talk to the doc :)

I've hemmed and hawed and tossed the decisions around in my mind all week about what to do about Mr. X's invitation to visit. When he didn't ask for my decision right away, I made the conscious effort not to bring it up again myself. Over this past year and half that we've been talking again, I've come to realize that he tends to say things or offer things that are what I call "spur of the moment" thoughts. When I let him back in my life last summer I became aware of this. I think he said things because he was lonely and depressed about the choices he had made and the turn his life had taken. If he brought something back up a 2nd time then I knew it was something he was really thinking about. If he never brought it up again then I chalked it up to a spur-of-the-moment thought and left it alone. In some ways this helped keep me in check to not expect anything or to hope for something just to be disappointed. So, when he asked me again on Thursday if I had given his offer any thought or made a decision, I knew I really did need to make the decision. I told him I would see what I could do about some time from work on Friday and then let him know. So, I now have a plane ticket to the Windy City for Halloween weekend.

Hope for the Best, but Prepare for the Worst

The advice of a friend as I was leaving work today to head to a doctors appointment for my knee.

My left knee started to bother me a few weeks before my surgery. I think it started sometime in June. I get inflammation under the kneecaps ever now and again, it started back in college. So I really didn't think much of it. Then it got a tad worse like the week right before my surgery, but I just couldn't do anything about it at that point. I was too worried about the surgery. Then for about a month after the surgery - nothing. No pain, no problems.

Then is started back up again slowly. A little annoying pain that came and went. Then is was mildly painful to sit with that knee bend (as in sitting cross legged on the couch or bed). The annoyance grew to where the knee kind of stuck and you know it will feel better if you pop it, but you don't force a pop because you're afraid it's going to hurt. When the knee became stiff from sitting down I knew I needed to call a doctor. I by-passed my regular doc and asked around for an orthopedic and made an appointment *which was today* and wouldn't you know it, as it got closer to the appointment the knee got slightly worse. Now, every time I stand up from sitting, if I'm not careful, I get a sharp shooting pain in my knee. As in, "OW, F*ck that hurts" kind of pain.

So, X-rays were taken. The good news is that nothing is broken. I was pretty sure about that one walking in there, but I guess they have to rule out the obvious. Why was I so sure that nothing was broken you ask. Simple - I haven't taken any stumbles what-so-evah in the last 6 months. Unless I've been sleepwalking, but then again I would think a nasty stumble would have woken me up, no?

Of course, the next thing out of his mouth just pissed me off to no end. I had pretty much just finished telling the doc that I've had knee problems on and off since college, but that this was definitely something different. He proceeds to tell me that losing some weight would probably help my knees. Well DUH! Can someone please fuckin' explain to me why doctors automatically think that all health issues with someone who is overweight are ALL a direct result of that additional weight?? I almost got the impression that he didn't want to take any more time analyzing my problem after that statement. *Deep breath and count backwards from 10* After which I somehow calming said to the man, "I know I have weight issues and within the last year I had lost almost 50 pounds, but that the surgery has set me back about 10-15 pounds because of immobility, but my weight is not what is causing whatever problem I have now. This is a very different feeling and pain in my knee." *pat myself on the back for that calm response when all I really wanted to do was jump off the medical table and strange him while shouting "do you really think I don't know that I'm overweight?"* He then suggested an MRI to see what was going on in that area. When I mentioned the sharp, shooting pain I get in the knee when I stand up he said there might be a tear in the meniscus, but he won't know till we get the MRI results.

So, I am now scheduled for an MRI on Friday and a follow up visit for next Wednesday. In the meantime I pray that the pain doesn't get any worse in the next week.

So in hoping for the best - all this pain is my imagination and will *poof* go away and preparing for the worst - I guess would be knee surgery.............. sooooooooooooooo not what I want to prepare for!

In other news... still no decision about the trip. Though I did look at airfares and of course heading up the Windy City is cheaper then heading down to the sandy shores - go figure! *sigh*

How Do I Let Myself Get Talked into Things??

As ya'll know, I have been working diligently on the Christening Gown for my soon-to-be niece or nephew. So, when the invitation came for my cousin's baby shower (scheduled just 2 weeks after my sister's) I knew that there just wasn't enough time to make something, so I didn't even try. Well, apparently, silly me!

Last weekend, I must have been Wednesday or Thursday night, I was talking to Mom on the phone and she asked me if I was making a baby blanket for my cousin's baby. I had told her no, because there just wasn't enough time for me to make something and mail it in time for the shower. She wasn't hearing it. She told me to go through my yarn and find something for a blanket. I think her exact words were, "I KNOW you have enough yarn to make a baby blanket in that house, if not several! So go get it and don't waste money on something else!" Of course, she's right. Last think I need to be doing is spending money frivolously right now.

Yeah, Mom knows I have a yarn stash, she just doesn't know that I have "A YARN STASH" When I tried to argue with her that I didn't think I could crank out a baby blanket in a week - she wasn't havin' any of that either. "So what! It will be a little late, but she'll understand when she gets it" So, I went stash diving and found this pretty baby blue yarn and yes, more than enough for a baby blanket. Now to find a pattern. I know that crocheting is fast, but I didn't want to start another ripple blanket as I have 2 already started for Christmas gifts.

Then I remembered a baby blanket that a woman from my knitting group had just finished and went searching for that pattern. I cast on Saturday night while I was hanging out at my friend Suzanne's house. I got through 1 repeat of the pattern (about 30 rows) when I found a mistake way back on row 3. Yeah, you know it - Sunday morning I frogged back all 27 rows to fix the mistake and kept going.

It is now day 4 of this blanket, I am about 30" along and so tired of it! Knitting under pressure takes a tad of the enjoyment out of it. Anyhoo, I have 1 more repeat to complete before binding off. Now, the blanket might be done tomorrow, but there is now way it will be mailed and delivered by Saturday. My solution is to take a photo of the finished blanket, sent it to my sister and ask her to print it out and stick it into a card for me. Then she can at least bring that to the shower on Saturday, while I head to the post office to mail the actual gift :)

Here it is so far -

What to do? What to do?

That's been the question flip flopping through my mind since Sunday morning. Now, I sit here in my office with this on my mind again. I just can't seem to get a handle on it. There's a part of me that sooooooooooooooo wants to do it and then there's a piece of me that says it's a bad idea and you'll never move on if you do.



*sigh*

I was on the phone with Mr. X Sunday and while he was talking I was on the computer looking up airline prices to Florida for a conference/weekend getaway in November. I came across a fairly decent price and silly me says out loud, "well that's not a bad price."

Mr. X "What?"

And I just had this feeling about what was coming up next. I should have just lied and said something else, but I'm not a very good lier and I've never lied to him before, so why start now. I can wear a mask and hide myself and my feelings behind it real well, had years of practice at that growning up. After 4 years of therapy, I had thought I had thrown those masks away, but I'll be damn if they're not right back in place again. But lying was never my forte.

*Maybe, subconsciencely, I wanted what came next* I told him what I was doing and sure enough, it came - the suggestion. The suggestion to go up there and visit him. He said he still owed me for half the ticket from my last trip and add that to half the ticket for this trip, should I go, and technically I wouldn't be paying a dime this time. *I won't be paying monitarily that it* *think, think* I couldn't give him an answer right away. I needed to think. So, I told him I would think about it and look into it.

Logically, I totally know that I should not go up there. Logically, I should have never let him back into my life. Logically. But I don't think Gemini's are known for their logic. The illogical part of me wants to go so badly. The illogical part of me wants to spend a long weekend with him and yes, crazy as this sounds, I want to see that little girl again. Yet, I know if I do this, it's going to cost me.

I've never had a problem with walking away from people that have wronged me. Yet, I can't seem to get this man out of my system, out of my head, out of my heart. God, what is wrong with me?!

Watch

Kool another award!!

Check it out! I got an award from Fluffyknitting!!!
Thank you so much for that.




Now, I need to 'pass on the honours' to some bloggers who I love to read.

The Rules:
The rules for award acceptance are as follows:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her website.
2. Add a link to the person who gave you this award.
3. Nominate at least 7 other websites/blogs.
4. Provide links of the nominated websites/blogs.
5. Leave a message at each website owner that you´ve nominated.

My nominees, in no particular order, are:

The A.D.D. Knitter
KozyKitty
PhDKnitting
Valerie
JavaJem

Christening Gown Complete!!

It's finally done!! Finished!! Finito!! And I love how it turned out! My baby sister is pregnant and she is due sometime between Thanksgiving and the first week of December. She's is hoping for a November birth so there is no competition with Christmas *giggle* She looks so cute pregnant!

Last weekend we had her baby shower. Her husband insisted that it be a suprise. You have any idea how hard it is to make it a suprise when Mommies-to-be know they get a shower for the first baby?? Yeah, my sister was not fooled. My BIL even said she put the "excuse" event on the calender as - "Mike's 80th Birthday Brunch (baby shower?)" *LAUGH*

Anyhoo, it was a very nice shower and the food was delish! I still haven't downloaded the picture of my camera yet, hopefully this weekend :) But I do have pictures of the gown!



Pattern: Christening Gown (Ravelry)
Yarn: Patons Silk Bamboo (7 skeins)
Needles: Knit Picks Harmony size 6
Modifications: the pattern was written incorrectly for the skirt portion! I found the same chevron pattern in The Knitter's Bible and was able to see where the mistake was! I followed the chevron pattern and had NO problems!! I did 8 repeats of the Chevron pattern, 5 rows of st, 1 more repeat of the pattern, 10 rows of st, 1 row k2tog, YO all the way around, knit, bound off.

I am still in search of a bonnet pattern to go with. I also offered to make her a Christening blanket, but not till AFTER Christmas. I have too many other things to make by December 25th as it is! :)

Well, That Didn't Take Long!

Schools been in session for what, three weeks now. Two of those weeks were short weeks so our system has has ONLY been in session for 12 days. 12 DAYS! That's it. The students have only been here for 12 freakin' days and it's already happened. *What?? What's happened?? You are all asking yourself*

It would appear that I have officially pissed off a teacher in my new school! *I know, you are all asking yourselves "What? How? Sweet, little 'ol Pheelya pissed someone off??"*giggle* Yes folks, apparently my explaining how to schedule a class to come to the media center was taken as a reprimand by a teacher! A reprimand!!

*laugh*

I was simply explaining to her that when she spoke to my assistant, that a message was being passed along to me and that she had NOT been officially scheduled for the time slot she was asking for. Considering that I already have another class scheduled during the period that she wanted to bring her class down, I thought I would clarify this. Had I NOT clarified this and she came down here on Friday and found another class in here what do you think her reaction would have been? Yeah.

Just had to share the humor with you all *grin*

A reprimand?! *LAUGH*

Speaking of Christmas in July

OK, so I missed July and skipped straight through to September *grin* I thought it was time to start organizing my projects for Christmas gifts. This year Christmas will be in New York at my folks house, so I have a few extra little gifts I'll need to make for people. My baby sister is also pregnant and due sometime around Thanksgiving. So, here is my attempt at getting organized *yeah, I know, scary isn't*

To Knit/Crochet Holiday List

September: Christening gown for my sister's Baby Shower - by September 26th - Started!

December:
Birthdays:

• Mr. X - not a freakin' clue
• Baby M: Elijah

Christmas:

• Mom: Cardigan - Noro SG yarn in stash - casted on
• Dad: Vest - Peruvian Alpaca yarn in stash - swatched
• Sister M: - Waves Scarf (Ravelry link)- Completed!!
• BIL M: Felted Clogs (Ravelry link) - Paton's Classic Wool yarn in stash
• Niece G: Gentle Waves Round Ripple afghan (Ravelry link) - Red Heart Soft - started
• Niece J: Holey Moley - Prism yarn in stash
• Sister S: Felted Clogs - Cascade 220 yarn in stash
• BIL E: Felted Clogs - Paton's Classic Wool yarn in stash
• Baby: Cardigan or sweater
• Cousin C: Soft Waves afghan - Bernat So Soft yarn (blues) in stash
• Zia & Zio M: Ripple afghan - Bernat So Soft yarn in stash
• Cousin F: Scarf & hat set - yarn from stash
• Cousin C: Scarf & hat set - yarn from stash
• C's Hubby: not a freakin' clue!
• Mr. X: not a freakin' clue!
• Baby M: Baby Surprise Jacket - pink yarn in stash

See a stash busting trend in that list? *grin* So now the real question becomes can I get this all accomplished before Christmas Eve??

Thank Goodness the Two Week are Over!

Sorry I haven't been around much the last couple of weeks. School has started back up and I have been trying to readjust my sleep pattern to accomodate a 5:15 AM wake-up call to be out the door by 6:15 AM to be at work by 7AM. Very hard considering last year I was waking up at 7AM to be at work by 8:30 AM. Really, 5 AM is for the birds! On the flip side though.... No more Crazy Sally! No More Crazy Sally!! *does a little happy dance around her office* So far, so good here at high school :)

What a difference the atmosphere is here compared to my old school. I actually walk in with a smile on my face and my shoulders relaxed!! I did not realize just how tense and stressed I had been about work while I was still at the other school. The 2nd factor that really hit it home for me was my Advil Migraine. *I know you are all going - HUH??* I had kept a large bottle of Advil Migraine in my desk draw because I am prone to migraines and Advil Migraine is my first line of defense when I feel a headache coming on. Anyhoo, I didn't get much sleep the other night and started getting a headache while at work. Without thinking, I reached into my drawer to pull out my bottle, only I hadn't brought any in yet. Luckily a co-worker had some Aleve on him and I was able to get rid of the headache. I emailed myself a reminder at home to bring in some Advil Migraine. When I got home I immediately when to go get my home stash to throw in my school bag. That's when it hit me - BOTH my bottles at home were empty! I tend to keep one bottle upstairs in my linen closet and one bottle downstairs in my food pantry. There were days that I would come home just so stressed out that I needed my Advil right when I walked in and then would lay down on the couch with an ice pack on my head.

Now, since I had the surgery over the summer I didn't have a single headache and I knew I hadn't had any Advils since the end of school. So when I had a whooping TWO whole pills left in my house, that's when I realized just how CRAZY that woman made me!

Anyhoo, the change over to high school has been good so far. I get the destinct impression that the person that left was not very friendly when it came to dealing with students and staff. It seems like if I smile, keep the media center open and allow kids to check out books that would be a HUGE improvement. That kind of releaves some stress off of me in that I don't have to kill myself making improvments all at once :)

On to knitting news... I have finally finished all the pieces to the Moss Bark Short Sleeved Cardigan (Ravelry link). Each piece has been blocked and now I just need to sew it together and then do the collar edging and wahla it will be finished!! I love, love, love the color/yarn combo on this!

My Juliet is not doing so well, sadly. I had gotten all the way through the 5th repeat of the lace pattern and tried it on only to find that the weight of the yarn stretched the garter stitch pattern at the top so much that it stretched all the way down to my waist!! So, rip, rip, rip all the way back through all that pretty lace and several rows of the garter stitch. Try number 2 - I made it through 6 repeats of the lace pattern, tried it on and just didn't like the fit on the shoulders. Too big!! So..... rip, rip, rip it all the way out!!

Next up is the One Row Scarf (Ravelry link) designed by the Yarn Harlot. I'm using stash yarn *yeah for stash busting!!* called Dance. It's a cotton/acrylic blend. Very soft but I went crazy finding needles pointy enough for this yarn!! It was splitting so badly on my other needles. I have no idea where these plastic red ones came from, but they are nice and pointy and puuuuuurrfect for this yarn!



A while back the Columbia Sip 'n Knit group put in a large order with 100purewool.com. I have been wanting to try out their 3-ply yarn and to check out some new colors, so I ordered a few single skeins and with one of those skeins I'm making a scarf for the Red Scarf Project.



Next up, I purchased a bag of this Noro Silk Garden from LittleKnits to make a cardigan for my mother for Christmas. Aren't those colors purdy! I immediately cast on for her sweater, but had to put it on hold to make a Christening gown for my sister's baby. We're having her baby shower on September 27th so I HAVE GOT to finish that gown first! :) Pictures of that will come later on.



And of course I can't sign off without a picture of Frisco. I think he was a leach in his former life. I can't sit out the couch without him coming over and laying on some part of me!

Ravelympics Cast-on!!

OK, I wasn't a die-hard fanatic that got up at 8 AM just to cast on. Sorry folks, I slept in as my per-normal healing period, till about 11. Then I had to pack for a drive-by weekend with the folks. My older sister and her family were going to NY for my baby sister's birthday and to drop the kids off with Nonni and Grandpa for the week. My parents are so good to take the kids not just for one week, but TWO different weeks over the summer!! Earlier this summer they took the grandkids to Florida for a week!

The trip was a little hard on me. I wasn't used to sitting for such a long period of time. Not even the first day I was home from the hospital, but then again the swelling was pushing against my bladder which had me in the bathroom every couple of hours. We got stuck in HORRIBBLE traffic in Delaware. It was even worse when we came home on Sunday!! Sunday we were stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic from the Delaware Memorial Bridge (entering Delaware) to the toll booth LEAVING Delaware!! Sunday was BRUTAL!!

This traffic was horrible on one bum and patience, but great for the non-driving knitter, ME! Though I had a few sharp belly pangs Friday night to remind me that it wasn't so great on the body.

Anyhoo, I cast on for my Horcrux Socks at about 2PM, after I was done packing. By the time we got to NY (9:30 PM) I was 2 rows away from the heel flaps!! I went ahead and cast-on 2-@-a-time. Silly me forgot that book at home and didn't want to screw up the heel flaps, so stopped there.



Saturday was my sister's birthday. I help my Mom a little in getting ready for the party. She was having family over (25 people total) for a cook-out for Stefania. When she saw me draggin' ass she sent me to take a nap. I passed out on the couch for a few hours. It was just what I needed.

Doesn't she look cute pregnant!



Sunday I cast-on the Cashmere Cowl. It's just a simple 2x2 rib. By the time we got home Sunday night I had knit through about 1/2 the skein of yarn. I think this just might be a one-skein wonder!! Now what do I do with the other skein that I have?!



Other Knitting News:
I am almost done with all the pieces for the Moss Bark Short Sleeve Cardigan. I just have one more sleeve to complete, block and sew together. I hate sewing pieces together! Anyhoo, I love how it's turning out. It's a tad heavier then I was expecting, so I doubt I'll be sporting this indoors, but it will be a nice jacket on brisk days!



Dad's socka are coming along nicely. They will probably get the back burner till I am done with my three Ravelympics projects, but that's OK since Christmas is a bit off still. These were the first pair that I had cast on using the 2-@-a-time method. I have about 5" on the leg, the pattern calls for 9" before starting the heels. Notice anything about the needles on this project?? No, I'm not talking about the fact that they are Harmony needles, but they are nice aren't they! Look closer.



It snaped in half! *waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh* I have never broken a needle before and I haven't even had these a month yet!! *sniffle* These were a gift, so KnitPicks won't replace them because only the person who bought them can do that. So, I decided I'm going to write them a letter and enclose the broken needle at proof. Hopefully they will replce, but in the mean time I had to order a pair in that size to finish the socks! I ordered the Options in hopes that I won't break them!

Luckily it isn't the working needle that snapped, so I can still knit, but I will need to switch out the needles when I get down to the heel flap.



Lastly, remember that yarn were the colorways was sooooooooooooooooooooooo off the order site picture. I went ahead and finished the Shetland Shawl for my sister and a fellow knitter, who is also a professional dyer was going to help me overdye the shawl. Turns out I didn't get to do it before my sister's birthday, so I wrapped it up as is with the intention of telling her that I would have to take it back with me to dye it again. Turns out, she LOVED the color. No need to dye! So I just blocked it and gave it to her when it was dry. Finnitto!