Merry Christmas!

I did not get the chance to blog right before Christmas to wish you all a Merry Christmas, so I hope that you have all had a great holiday! I hope you all were able to spend time with your loved ones and got all the things that you wished for.

Wow, what Christmas this has been.

First off, I got the shocker of my life just before the holidays..... My electric bill! FUCK! Now, you need to understand, I live in a tiny house and it's just me and the kitty! The electric company raised its rates 72% last year *FUCK!!* It was raised that much because apparently there was some sort of rate cap on the electric company for several years and last year that cap was lifted and of course the CEOs of BGE were is such dire straights *that statements is dripping with sarcasm in case you missed it* that they had to add all the hikes that were missed while under that cap. As if that hike wasn't a killer on it's own! The electric company raised it rates 50% this year! *talked about a double fuck!*

OK, so in anticipation of this unbelieve act of piracy! I unpacked all my sweaters and set my thermostat to 68 when I'm home and 63 when I'm not. A few extra layers inside will help me keep my heating bills down. So, when my bill came I was expecting the bill to be slightly higher, but when the bill was almost triple what I normally pay I freaked! I mean FREAKED! *FUCK! FUCK!! FUCK!!! FUCK!!!! FUCK!!!!!* After sounding like a nasty sailor whose mouth just went on a swearing rampage, I took a closer look at the bill.

Do you see what I see??



A huge glaring difference in the amount of electricity usage last month. Nomally I use between 400-650 kWh. Last month they say I used 1573 kWh! That's almost TRIPLE the electrical usage!! After freaking out and calling my older sister to see if she could tell me what the hell was going on with my electricity. (My older sister is an architectual engineer, so naturally I think she knows everything and anything when it comes to house things, and when I'm freaking out that badly, I truely believe she SHOULD know it all!) So, after my sister calmed me down I called the electric company to tell them there is something VERY wrong. Of course, the customer service person was not really interested in what I was saying becuase she kept reiterating the fact that there was a rate increase and this was probably the first time I've had my heat turned on since the rate hike. This is where my temper and sanity was after being on the phone with this woman for 5 minutes...

me: I understand that the rates went up, but I'm not talking price! I'm talking usage.

her: Ma'am, it was much colder last month and you probably weren't using your heat as much as the month be-

me: Listen to me very carefully! I am NOT talking about the COST of my bill! I am talking about the amount of kilowatts per hour that are used. My amount of electical USAGE nearly tripled! I want someone to take a look at my meter to see if it is working properly becuase I have NEVER used that much energy in a month! DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM SAYING NOW!!

Finally, she said she would put in a request to check to usage history and pass this along. Needless to say, the company did NOT come out and check the meter, they just sent me a letter saying the reading was accurate and that it was an actual reading. Then the letter proceeded to tell me again about the rate increase. UGGH!!!

I called again today and firmly requested that someone come out to my house and do a thurough check on my meter and that I wanted to be there when the person came to my house so they can explain what the heck they are doing and what the check verifies. At the same time, I contacted my home warrenty company to come out and check my heat pump because the electric company seems to think that might be the culpret of my energy usage increase. So I have a service tech coming to the house Friday morning to check the heat pump, and then I have the electric company coming out the following Friday to check the meter.

That was my holiday freak-out session.

On to more pleasant things . . .

My holiday break started when I received this great book from KozyKitty on the last day of work. I had seen the book in Border's and been debating on purchasing it, but I knew it would have to wait till after the holidays. I just couldn't afford to spend anything on myself for right now. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long! I've already got about 20 of the projects in this book marked!! This should certainly help in my stash-busting efforts! Thanks KK!!



Then my holiday break really got started at Happy Hour - Friday night! KK and another friend of ours, Tracey, and KK family all met up at Ram's Head for laughs , drinks and food. In that order :)



KK and her DH in the first pic, then DH and her daughter in the 2nd.


I had decided this year, since I was poorer than a church mouse, that I would put my stash to good use and knit or crochet everyone in my family and friends their gifts this year. *in October, what the hell was I thinking??.... apparently I wasn't!* So, I searched my stash, my project books, the Internet and Ravelry for ideas and projects and I made my list. As the days flew by, panic started to set in and that list was growing shorter and shorter. NOT because I was actually finishing projects. Oh no, I had apparently thought I was super knitting woman back in October when I first created the list. The list was getting shorter because I was crossing names off the list and buying gifts *with crumbs I found scurrying around* All-in-all, I am pleased with what I did accomplish!

Just a few Christmas photos to share with you all :)

Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree! My sister puts so many lights on her tree that you can literally read a novel by the lights of her tree alone!



Here is my niece Jules with the fairy blanket that has been started for her. The day before Christmas I had to frog all the crocheting that had been done on the blanket because it just wasn't looking right, so the blanket is back in my house to be worked on over winter break.



Here's my other niece, Gabby. She just moved into her own room, so I told her that as soon as she figured out how she's going to decorate her new room I would make a blanket for her too!



I was working furiously on this Fisherman's Watchcap from Knitting with Balls. I was up till 3am on Christmas Eve knitting this baby for my brother-in-law! He opened that gift, put that hat on his head and wore it ALL morning!! He has requested a 2nd one in black and red (you'll see why a little further down). Now that made staying up till 3am worth it! He's a jogger and said the hat would be perfect for keeping his head and ears warm on his runs.

Yarn: Paton's Classic Merino in black & Red Heart Ltd. Soft Yarn in Guacamole for the strips.
Needles: size 8



I finally finished Mom & Dad's afghan *the day before Christmas Eve, but hey it's finished!* and they love it. It's the perfect color that will match their decor in the family room. My father loves the fact that it's so heavy and warm!

Yarn: Red Heart TLC Amore in Garnet
Hook: size K



I also completed an afghan for my sister and her hubby. This was the Soft Waves pattern from 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns book. My brother-in-law was tickled pink that I made the blanket wide enough for them to BOTH snuggle under. Apparently, my sister doesn't share the first one I made her with him because it's not big enough *giggle*

Yarn: Lion Suede in Waterlilies, Denim, Fushia, Eggplant and Olive.
Hook: Size H


Last up was a joke between my older sister and me. She thought I was fuckin' crazy when I told her my Christmas plan. When time was running out she would joke that everyone would be getting a knitted dishcloth as a gift. Well, I did not get to finish her gift, but I had to have something for her to open on Christmas morning. So......



She laughed for a good five minutes :) I promised her she would be opening another gift for La Befana! She did love the colors of the dishcloth :)

Here is one of the best gifts I got this year from my little sister. She knows I am struggling with making ends meet and that I might have to sell my house in order for me to keep my sanity, but my house needs a little work. So she and my brother-in-law gave me a "Worker Bee" certificate! What is a Worker Bee certificate you ask?? It's a promose that they will both come down and help me out on any major house project (inside or outside) and all I would need to do is give them about a month's heads-up so they can take off work, and feed them while they are here! I was so touched! I just might be putting in that new kitchen after all! I just need to find myself a money tree to pay for the cabinets! *laugh*



Lastly, I received some great knitting books off my wishlist! I will certainly have no problem using up my stash in 2008 with these great books keeping me busy!!



Now, I don't know about your family, but it seems that there is always someone in my family that just gets so excited about their gifts they just simply cannot wait to use them or try them on. Normally, that someone is usually one of my nieces, because lets face it, kids just can't wait. Well, this year was no different.

...

...

...

...

The biggest kid in the family! See the black and red jogging top. Understand why he now wants a black and red Fisherman's Watchcap *laugh*

Poster person for "What Not to Wear!"



This is was we all wanted to do by the end of the night....



When I came home and shared all my Christams goodies with Frisco, he apparently objected to the knitting books. I think he fears that I will spend more time with yarn then with him *giggle*

Long Lost Updates

I know, I know... where the hell have I been?? I'm not really sure how time seems to be getting away from me lately, but it is. Ironically thought, at the same time I feel like this school year is going by to freakin' slowly! BUT I won't go into THAT issue right now.

I've been very lackadaisical on my blogging lately cause I seem to be out of town every other weekend in October! You all know I was in GA the first weekend, partying hard with friends I haven't seen in a few years. The weekend after that I was in the Chicago area working on this with Mr. X and two weeks later I was back there again!

I'm still confused *for lack of a better word right now* about what is going on between us. There's a small piece of me that wonders "what the fuck are you doing?" I've never had a problem with walking away from a man that was stupid enough to do me wrong, but for some reason I cannot walk away from this one. I am still in love with this man. There is a larger piece of me that holds on to the notion that there is some sort of divine power at work because lets face it, we live 720 miles apart - it's not like I'm gonna run into him at the local grocery store or anything like that. So why else would we be talking again?

There's another large part of me that thinks this was a HUGE wake-up call for him. And I really do feel that there is definitely a change in him. I certainly see a different side to the man that I originally fell in love with. Not saying that's bad by any means, just a deeper piece of him that is being shared with me. I just don't know yet if it's going to affect his serious commitment issues or not. At least this time I have my eyes open a little more. Do I realize that I could be setting myself up for another heart ache should he run scared again after the baby comes... yeah, I do. I also look at the prospect that we can get through this, our relationship will be so much stronger and that is a good thing. I believe in 2nd chances when the person is making an honest effort to change.

Anyhoo, enough about that. While I was up there though, I did manage to snap a few shots of the blanket I had crocheted for him 2 years ago for his Christmas gift.





Tonight was Stitch 'n Bitch night. The Wednesday night group is getting so large that we practically take over the cafe area at Boarders!



Here's Maura working on lace stole.



And Bri working on her Arwen sweater.




And PhDKnitter working on hers!



Here's an update photo on the baby's blanket. I am at the half way point for the main body of the blanket. The border is knit separately and then stitched on. It's going to be interesting trying to block this thing when I'm finally done!



Here are some WAY-BELATED photos of the 2nd Monica tank for my older niece. We left off the ruffle piece cause she thought it was to babish for middle school. They grow up so fast!




Can you tell she's a ham??





On a more upbeat note, I joined Curves a little over a month ago and on Monday I had my first weight and measurements taken since I've started working out. In one month I lost a total of 14" all together! *does a little happy dance* The biggest shocker to me was losing 3 whole inches in my hips! WooHoo!

I will update you all on the other 2 Christmas afghan gifts soon, I promise!!

Crochet! Knit! Crochet! Knit! What season is it??

OK, with a title like that I just couldn't resist finding this :)

So, now onto some updates. As you can tell by my trackers it has been 29 days since my last cigarette! *How awesome is that!* On that same day, I started my walking routine. There is a lake behind my house and the path around the lake is a 2 mile lap. I walk 2 laps pretty much daily. A nice 4 mile walk each evening. Wednesdays are tough since I have therapy right after work and I don't get home till about 6:15 PM and then I have knitting group at the local Borders that starts at 7PM. But hey! Four miles/six days a week is pretty darn good! *for me at least* I call this my "Me Time." I walk and think, and plot and scheme *just kidding.... maybe* and talk to God and even say a prayer to a few relatives up there to watch over friends and family down here. Heck, I have even asked Mr. X's father to watch over him and help him maintain his sanity during this rough period in his life. *Color me a fool who's still in love - PARAMEDICS WE NEED A STRAIGHT JACKET FOR THIS ONE!*

Here's the baby blanket I am working on. Believe it or not, it has been somewhat calming for me to be working on this blanket. Not sure why, since when I'm working on, THAT situation is always on my mind. Several people have called me crazy for putting this much effort into a blanket for his baby, but in my mind, the child is the innocent in all this. It certainly isn't her fault that her daddy was a dumb ass in that situation.

Moving on.... here is the Soft Waves Ripple that I am working on for my sister's Christmas gift. I have to add a stripe of the Denim color yarn and I will have one repeat of colors done!! That will be 25% complete! A nice start for the month of September for a December gift :)

Lastly, is an update on my Mom afghan. I think this is about 25-30% completed as well. Again, a nice start for a Christmas gift! Unfortunately, you can't really see the pattern very clearly in photos, but the color will go beautifully with the family room decor at Mom's house.

Just had to add this picture.... How can you resist a face like that one??

Crocheting and Plants

Crocheting
Hello everyone in Blogland! Here's a quick look at what I have been working on with the crochet personality. *having muliple craft personality disorder can be a real biotch sometimes* My crochetting personality has been the dominant personality this week, so not much news on the knitting front.

First up: The Larger Than Life Bag. Here are the squares that I have so far. I'm not totally crazy about them and considering frogging a few to start over. Can you tell I really liked the green yarn? *laugh* I think that's what's throwing me off, too much of one color. I also need to figure how to tone down some of the brighter colors with a complimentary darker color to that my bag doesn't turn into the Louder-than-Life bag *laugh* I'm using KnitPicks Merino for this project. I reworked some of the squares last night, but didn't take an updated photo because I was feeling lazy. I am hoping to finish the squares off by Friday so that I can go pick out fabric and a zipper this weekend. Then I'm going to bribe my older sister with a pitcher of Margaritas to help me with the sewing and lining *giggle*



Next up: Stained Glass Afghan from Vanna's Afghans A to Z: 52 Crochet Favorites. Here's the reason to call me crazy *giggle* I have to make 357 of these squares! 357!! But it looks Oh-so-pretty. I have been wanting to make this afghan for years and actually had the yarn for YEARS! I've had the yarn so long that they no longer make most of the colors! So, I guess it's good that I'm a stash ho :) *LOL* Did I mention I have to make 357 of these little squares!

Here's how many I have so far...


6 down, 351 more to go *falls over* I'm pretty sure it's safe to say it will be a while before I post an update on the blanket *giggle*

Plants
My Lipstick Plant has bloomed!! I get so excited each year when this plant blooms. This plant requires such little maintenance and it producing the cutest looking flowers.

I'm sure it helps that I have huge windows in my library and we get lots of natural light! I have lots of houseplants in my library and the kids love 'em! Here's my Purple Passion *I just love that name*

Call Me Crazy - Saffron Cables

OK, it is time to commit me. I have seen pictures for this blanket on the net and I have wanted to make it the first time I saw this! It's called "Saffron Cables" and it's in the Fall '06 Interweave Knits. Why have me committed.... because I've only been knitting for about 6 months now and I am *seriously* considering this pattern!


Is that not GORGEOUS! Yes, I definitely see this as a long term project with many -MANY- nice, quick, short projects in between to break up the monotony of such a daunting task. Of course now comes the challenge of finding just the right yarn, because certain wools are very itchy to me. It will have to be something super soft and cuddly. Not to mention that I certainly need to find the perfect color too! Something that would look great for years to come. Anyone for suggestions on yarn??

Gotta start somewhere...

Well, I have finally jumped in feet first and started a blog! OK, so I'm a little behind the times, but I'm getting there :)

Anywho, I saw that a whole bunch of people have blogs on their knitting or crocheting, so since I do both, among other crafty things, I figured - Why not?!

As the holiday season approaches and I find myself sitting at home working on some gifts when I figured I would give me fingers and wrists a bit of a rest. OK, so maybe not a rest so much as a change of pace *grin* and thought I would share some of my latest creations.

OK, so this isn't a Christmas gift for anyone, I just love how this blanket turned out. This was my first attempt at Tunisian Crochet (otherwise known as the afghan stitch). It took forever! This was one of those projects that when you finished a section you put it down and moved on to something else for a breather :) But I couldn't be more pleased with the results.






Here is the a scarf I knitted for my sister. She came by my house one afternoon while she was out shopping and handed me 2 skeins of this yarn and asked me to make her a scarf with it. These skeins were only 37 yards each! So of course my smart response was do you wnat it super skinny or super short?? *laugh* So 2 more skeins were purchased and here are the results. She loves it, so I'm glad. But I told her she was never aloud to purchase yarn without consulting me first! Especially if she wants ME to be the person making something with it *giggle*


OK, time for me to catch some snoozes. I guess I will get to posting the actual Christmas gifts another time :)