This Weather is Killing Me!!

Ugh! I wish Mother Nature would make up her mind and decide that Spring should be here and stop with this crazy up and down weather! All these drastic temperature drop, front and barometric pressure ups and downs are recking havoc on me and triggering migraines like crazy! I don't know what percentage of the population actually gets migraines - and I'm not talking bad headaches here - I'm talking about debilitating, super-sensitive, mind shit. I had a really bad one last week and not my usual kind of off-kilterness when it comes to migraines. I was in bed Monday night and I had a slight headache. I didn't take anything because I was going to sleep and usually sleep will help get rid of it. I was just finishing up a chapter in a book when BAM I had a full force migraine come on. I've never had one hit me like that without one of my triggers. So, I got out of bed and took one of my prescription medications and crawled back into bed. I was up again at either 2:30 or 3:30 AM, my vision was blurry so I couldn't read my clock, and my head was pounding! It was time for the ice pack. I went down stairs and only by the grace of God did I make it down the flight of steps without falling and breaking my neck because my balance was soooooo off whack! I grabbed the ice pack from my freezer (I keep two in my freezer for just such times) and crawled back up the stairs *and I do mean crawl because I was afraid I might fall if I tried to stand up*, took another prescription pill, crawled back into bed, pulled up the covers, placed the ice pack on my head and drifted off to the blackness. I was up again a few hours later. It was like my body just knew that it could not handle the loud alarm clock because I woke up again, literally two minutes before my alarm went off. My head was still pound and when I got up to head to the bathroom, my balance was still off. There was no way I could drive into work. Called in sick, took a 3rd prescription pill *I know, not good* made sure the sun blocking shades were closed *I have those heavy light blocking shades for days like this that turn my usually bright room into the Bat Cave* and went back to bed. I didn't get up again till about 11AM. My head was still bothering me, but not as bad. I had something light to eat, took a 4th pill and started to make a mental list of who I would call to take me to the hospital if this pain didn't go away. I knew I couldn't take any more of my prescriptions. I shouldn't have take 4 in less that 24 hours, but thinking kind of is non-existent when you're dealing with pain like this.

I was straightening up a few things, staying off the computer because that can be a migraine trigger for me. Usually it's when I'm working on the computer a lot, but when I'm teetering on the brink the slightest thing can trigger a full blown migraine instantly. That's when I saw it....
the one bootie....
the one Christening bootie....
ONE...
on the floor in the spare room. The other was no where in sight! *don't panic, don't get hysterical, and whatever you don't - don't let your BP go up or you'll definitely be calling someone to take you to the hospital for another migraine*

I had both booties sitting on the top of the bookcase, drying. They were stuffed with plastic baggies to shape and stretch then just a little. The other booties was not on the bookcase. The other booties was not on the floor near the one bootie that I found. *know, this is where you can officially call me the crazy cat lady* I'm shaking the one booties that I had while demanding that Frisco, yes that's my cat, tell me where the other one was. I have no more of this yarn left, so I could not make another bootie. I needed to find it! Frisco, of course, is looking at me like "Uh oh, mommy's losing it again." I went searching all through the upstairs, looking under the bed, in the closets, in his little bed, went downstairs, moved the couch, moved the china buffet, searched high and low for where he might had swatted this bootie. It was driving me crazy, because Frisco doesn't usually play with things that don't make noise, unless it's a long piece of string or yarn or a measuring tape. I'm am soooo trying not to panic here. I went back upstairs to plead with Frisco to show me were the other booties was. This time, something apparently sunk in with him and he walks over to the chaise lounge that I have in the spare room, flops over and starts pawing at something under there. I go over and get on my knees and take a look *oh thanks the gods!* There under the chaise lounge was the bootie with half the plastic bag pulled out of it. The little stinker was playing with the plastic bag that inside the bootie *told you, he likes things that make noise* I snatched up that bootie and put them away where he couldn't get his paws on them again!

Disaster averted, cat still have his skin in tact.

In other knitting news. I finished two projects since I last posted. First up is the baby blanket. This was made for one of the big wigs at the Panera's that my knitting group meets at every Wednesday night. The pattern was easily memorized and fairly easy to knit up.


Pattern: Elegantly Simple Baby Blanket by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer
Needles: Addi Turbos size 9
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Encore Worsted (4 skeins)
Modifications: none

And then, I finally finished my Valetine Baudelaire socks *ok, ok, so it's no longer Valentine's Day, but who cares!* And I love them!! It was a perfect marriage of yarn and pattern!


Pattern: Baudelaire by Cookie A.
Needles: KnitPicks Circulars - 3.0 mm 32"
Yarn: Yarn Love Marianne Dashwood - Summer Sangria
Modifications: I made the socks 2-@-a-time and in the larger size, but without the larger instep. The larger instep would probably have aided in getting the socks over my heel a little better, but then they would have been to big on the calf. I like them just how they are.

I would definately make another pair with this pattern. It was lots of fun. I have another pair of Cookie A's on needles and can't wait for her sock book to come out! I've already ordered mine on Amazon and it says it should be delivered on April 3rd!! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

See Ellen, I posted before you could yell at me :)

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.

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 -