I have a full pair!
Month: March 2007
I have found my voice again
Just wanted everyone to know that. I will blog more about that next week.
Of Socks and Hats
Remember this hat? https://shellssells.wordpress.com/2007/02/22/knitting/ Well officially I decided to take it apart so I could have a complete pair of socks. I decided to do so for a couple reasons. First, I really am excited about my socks. Secondly, my brother won’t wear the hat so it is relatively (pun intended 😉 ) useless to me. Finally, I have the typical continental knitter gauge problems, my gauge is a lot different when knitting in the round than when knitting on straight needles. Since I did half and half on that hat, I wasn’t pleased with the end result. Now that I know better, I will knit it in the round next time, as I do like the hat! (I wonder if there is any fix to this issue besides learning to knit a different way?!) It is a decent hat and I do want to make it again, it will just require some different colors next time around 🙂 Now I have enough for my socks!
More Potty training
Ok, if you don’t want to read the good, the bad, and the ugly of potty training you may not want to read this post.
My daughter has been doing really well with her potty training. She is now staying in big girl undies almost all day at school. The exception is nap time where they use a pull up just in case. I used to take extra undies and clothes to school for accidents but I don’t seem to need to do that anymore. She is always in the same outfit she went in with when I go to pick her up.
For awhile, this was all falling apart when she got home. Seemed like I would remind her and remind her about going potty and she wouldn’t go till it was too late. I have also been giving her a sucker when she manages it, extra incentive isn’t a bad thing! Last night, rather than forcing the issue, I just let it go. I reminded her, she would say Okay, but not go. But then, when I wasn’t looking, she had done it herself. She managed everything including getting her clothes back on all by herself. I suspect she just didn’t want so much interference. Then we went outside to play. Typically it is very difficult to stop playing and go inside to potty but she managed it again. I was very proud. (We then went back outside and she promptly had an accident but hey, good try!)
What is more bothersome at this point is that with the dry undies all day, she doesn’t like to wear diapers to bed. She takes them off if they are the least bit wet. Last night I replaced diapers 3 times. And the final time she had wet the bed so badly that I had to take all her clothes off and take her to her big girl bed. (When I got her up in the morning she had again taken the diaper off.) So what I would be saving in diapers all day I am replacing with diapers overnight. This isn’t going to work for me. We talked about how she must leave her diapers on today on the way to school, she tells me “Okay” but I don’t believe it. I am willing to give it another shot tonight but after that I am duct taping those suckers on her. I think the strong tape will make it that they are not stretchy enough to pull down. We shall see how it goes!
Life’s simplest pleasures
Last evening, as it was getting cooler, and my daughter was getting ready for bed, I took her out on the porch and we sat in the rocking chair. I rocked her and sang to her as she put her head on my shoulder, and I wished this moment would never end. Though I think that I have many simple pleasures, this might be one of the best.
I really must….
I really want to make this shirt http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring07/PATTisabella.html perhaps in a coral color. Well, that is the dream anyhow, I will see what yarns I have around that might be appropriate for this project. I suspect I will have to find a way to lengthen it.
On my socks, I can either take apart the hat for my brother that he didn’t want to have a full sock, look for more yarn in that color though I think it has been discontinued, or have a green toe of one sock. Not sure what I will do about it. I don’t really like the idea of buying more so perhaps I will take apart the hat. No decision made yet.
Protected: Additional thoughts from Thursday
I Have a Sock!!!
Yes, I have a sock, I never thought I could do it, but I have a sock. Yes, I am aware it takes 2. 😛
“What if Cartoons Got Saved?”
Link to lyrics of the song I would like to write about.
I heard this song on the radio this morning. It has been out for awhile. It always annoys me. There is rather an obvious reason for that I think but I couldn’t identify what it was that was annoying me on a deeper level. This morning I figured it out.
Luckily it ties right in to what I want to write about for my second Jonah post.
We are entering Jonah 4, and in Jonah 3, Jonah has let the Ninevites know that God would destroy them in 40 days. The Ninevites believe, turn from their evil ways, and begin fasting, then God is merciful to them and spares them. All that a prophet could hope for right? Not Jonah!
Jonah 4 (Contemporary English Version)
Jonah Gets Angry at the LORD
1Jonah was really upset and angry. 2So he prayed:
Our LORD, I knew from the very beginning that you wouldn’t destroy Nineveh. That’s why I left my own country and headed for Spain. You are a kind and merciful God, and you are very patient. You always show love, and you don’t like to punish anyone, not even foreigners.
3Now let me die! I’d be better off dead.
4The LORD replied, “What right do you have to be angry?”
5Jonah then left through the east gate of the city and made a shelter to protect himself from the sun. He sat under the shelter, waiting to see what would happen to Nineveh.
6The LORD made a vine grow up to shade Jonah’s head and protect him from the sun. Jonah was very happy to have the vine, 7but early the next morning the LORD sent a worm to chew on the vine, and the vine dried up. 8During the day the LORD sent a scorching wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head, making him feel faint. Jonah was ready to die, and he shouted, “I wish I were dead!”
9But the LORD asked, “Jonah, do you have the right to be angry about the vine?”
“Yes, I do,” he answered, “and I’m angry enough to die.”
10But the LORD said:
You are concerned about a vine that you did not plant or take care of, a vine that grew up in one night and died the next. 11In that city of Nineveh there are more than a hundred twenty thousand people who cannot tell right from wrong, and many cattle are also there. Don’t you think I should be concerned about that big city?
Talk about a reluctant prophet, not only is he reluctant, he is not at all happy with the result even though that same result was the best that God could hope for. So I find myself asking this week, how often do my own prejudices and stereotypes get in the way of the moments which the Lord may be trying to speak through me? Just like in that silly song, the singer says “How about Beavis and that other guy? Nah!!” Who are we to (hypothetically) decide that Beavis and Butthead are too far gone to save?
Sock Progress
Almost done, heel is turned, I have what looks like almost a sock.
Sleep makes everything better
I had a much better evening with my daughter last night. Neither of us was grumpy and she was being very good. Very Good! She went to bed early and willingly and slept till 5 when she woke up coughing. That means I got a good amount of uninterrupted sleep. I do not by any means feel caught up, but it certainly helps the disposition I assure you. I woke up a bit late this morning but since she was so good getting ready for school, I was not late to work either. I am crossing my fingers for another decent evening tonight.
On the other hand, she has the strangest little sickness I have ever seen her with. She has a cough, no fever, a runny nose, and goopy eyes. Not like pink eye, just goopy, I have to wipe them out frequently. Sorta gross. Just hoping we have turned the corner with it and she will be over it soon.
Last evening we had such a nice evening watching a video and I got to work on my sock. I turned the heel quite effectively, was much easier than I ever expected. I even brought it to work today as I was way too excited to keep my hands off it during break. No pictures yet. I will get there soon. So I now have a leg and a heel and I am moving quickly into having a foot. The gals at work are sure I will run out of yarn before I am done, but I think it isn’t likely. Even so, if I do, I still have a sock! Something I have been too chicken to try for a long time. It will be good practice. Pictures will come later.
Having a much happier day!
Sickness and Grumpiness
My daughter is again sick. Not really sick, but a cold and a cough. She is fever-less, but the cough keeps her up at night. Which keeps me up at night. It also makes her grumpy to not feel great. Which makes me grumpy. I hate walking the balance of being nice cause she is sick and not letting her get away with things she should know not to do. And when she is this grumpy, nothing, absolutely nothing, is right. I get that 2 is a stage, and when she is healthy, it is a stage I really love. She is funny, smart, and understanding things at an alarming rate. When she is sick, it tries every ounce of my patience and I start to think I should give her to someone else for half a year because obviously single parenting is not successfully attainable in my case. Yes, I know that is crazy talk, I know it is not the case, that I am a good mother. It is a case where my heart says I can’t even when my mind says I can. I also know it isn’t her that is the issue, it is my own insecurities and inability to know I can manage this on my own without family in the area. OK, now I am just talking, because I am just tired. I need to stop talking and eat. Maybe I will get some rest tonight.
I caved
After completing 2 WIP’s, I caved and cast on for socks. I have always wanted to give them a try and I am bored with WIP’s. At what point do you decide that a WIP is no longer worth it as your interest has officially waned and you cannot collect it again? *sigh*
Another WIP
I knew I had to take out a bunch of rows to get to a completed pattern so I could start a border. Finishing the pattern was not an option as I was out of yarn. I couldn’t handle the thought of patiently “unknitting” so I thought I would try ripping. But I was scared so I tried to find the row and pick it up on a couple needles. I knew I was on a couple rows but I figured I could manage. 
Here is what it looked like after ripping the rows. 
Now you can see that I have half of the stitches picked back up, and sure enough, I am working on a couple rows at once. 
And finally I have all the stitches back on the needles, except for 2 which I put stitch holders in to make sure they didn’t go anywhere so I could pick them back up as I was knitting. Not sure how I missed two but, it worked anyhow. And finally…..completed project.
This was a bear, I was ready to give up and chuck it numerous times. And my daughter now thinks it is fantastic and promptly christened it by wiping her snotty nose on it.
Too busy
Too busy and too tired. I can’t even get out a coherant though so basically blogging is out for now. Maybe it will slow down a little soon. I can cross my fingers but I won’t hold my breath.
My daughter did manage to go to school two days in a row with big girl underwear and not have an accident so progress is being made.
That is all I got today.
Running
On Sunday, the weather was beautiful so I thought I would take my daughter out for a walk. I got her in the stroller and we headed out for the nearest trail. Since it was such a lovely day, the trail was full of people, mostly joggers. My daughter was enchanted with the “people running” and decided she must do the same. I took her out of the stroller and she started running, making sure she was doing it properly, imitating the joggers she saw. This became a delight to the joggers and they commented as they passed her. She did look adorable in her grey yoga pants and grey and pink striped polo shirt, balled up fists, running her little heart out. She ran for a solid hour, meaning I also had to run. I am not a runner! I’ll walk, bike, blade, swim, but I do not run! Then she walked for another half hour till I picked her up and put her in the stroller to come home. She then ran around the house for 20 minutes. Oh to have her energy!
Sweet Child of Mine
I gave my daughter a bath today. After she got out of the tub I let the water out but didn’t pick up her toys. I had forgotten about them by the time I put her down for a nap but when I next entered the bathroom, I realized that she, somewhere along the line, had gone in and picked them all up and put them in their proper place. What a sweetheart!
WIP #3
Happy Feet
Last night I took my two and a half year old daughter to her first movie in a theater. The tickets at the theater we went to were only a buck each for matinee. We saw Happy Feet and she loved it! She was good for the whole movie, singing and dancing along. I will certainly be doing that again. I can’t even rent us a movie for that price. What a deal!
WIP
I have decided that before I start any additional knitting projects, I will finish at least 3 works in progress that I have been storing for about a year. In order to hold myself to that goal, I will blog it. There is, in addition to that, one crochet project that needs to be repaired. Since I am rather proud of it and would love to display it in my home, I need to finish that as well.
WIP #1:
I started this afghan the first time my brother went to Iraq. The intention was that it would be done before he got back. But the I got pregnant and it got put on hold. My brother has now done 2 tour of duties in Iraq and is home and out of the Army and it is still not done! Unfortunately it will never be done as a full size afghan because somewhere during the first tour of duty the company stopped making that yarn and I ran out. So the idea with this one is to take out a bunch of stitches and finish up the border. Seems like an easy task right? Yes, but I am less than inspired since it won’t be a real afghan anyhow. I will be saving this for his first child, providing he has one. It would make a great baby blanket.
WIP #2:
A lovely cardigan for my daughter which I started last winter. I made 2 front sides the same rather than doing them opposite. I didn’t even have to rip out the entire side, just about 1/3 and I did that, restarted, then got frustrated. This one is going to take some thinking to finish up but I would be very disappointed if she never got to wear it.
WIP # 3:
A hat and gloves set for twins that I never finished. The twins have been born and have grown out of the hats but I have not finished. I will finish it as I am sure there will be another little one coming along eventually whom I can give this gift.
And the crochet project, you can see where the seams are pulling out. I am lucky to have saved some yarn as I am a notorious purger and save very little even when I should.
After these 3 projects are done, I am going to treat myself to a lace pattern and finally teach myself to knit lace. I have been itching to do so for about half a year and I am ready to get started. Oh, and socks, I’d really like to make socks. Oh, and there is this neat sweater pattern for myself, and I have a gift in mind for a friend, and oh yeah, that yarn I have stashed away for something else for my daughter…and then there is……(and so it goes.)
Finished projects and cute kids
I finished my “fetching” gloves last night:
And I discovered that my daughter is getting enough hair to do stuff with. I did not discover that alone, I went to pick her up at daycare and she had 2 cute ponytails in her hair. Apparently a teacher got sick of hair in her eyes.
Protected: Made my day….
Drama Queen update.
OK drama queen, more than one week post having her teeth “cut” from her jaw bone, is still complaining.
Yesterday she went to have her stitches removed. She told the dentist that she was still in pain and she said he told her “Well it is like spraining your jaw.” and she says she has to be on a “liquid diet” for another week.
Someone pass me some hip waders!
This may be a day full of annoyed posts, we will see. I am all alone in the office and so far, people are bugging me. I kept receiving a call that was supposed to go to our fax machine. Someone had switched our numbers. I couldn’t call back as caller ID was not registering a number, just a company name. After getting the fax to my phone 4 times, I finally thought to transfer the call to our fax. Well, in the attempt to avoid this particular annoyance, I thought I would kindly call this sales person and let him know the error of his ways. He gave me some excuses about how he knew and how their database was messed up and how they were in the process of switching databases. If he knew, then why did he fax it to the wrong number? Makes no sense. So I again told him that I was just trying to save us both some trouble by letting him know. He then said perhaps he should have emailed it. Well, perhaps that would have saved me some trouble, yes, but he never once apologized! So I decide to take my leave and he says in a sarcastic tone of voice… “Yes, I hear you loud and clear.”
Funny how the quote found itself in the recycling bin.
A lovely thing.
Someone did something wonderful for me yesterday. And though I would guess she would not want to be showcased, I did want to make it clear how much she is appreciated.
My post yesterday emotionally took it all out of me. And it got various reactions. Which is ok, because I spoke my mind, and it is ok if not everyone agrees with me. The point being that I was pretty well drained by the time I got home. Then I got a surprise knock on the door and I opened it to the UPS man dropping of a package containing a goodie that I had wanted so badly but just couldn’t afford this month. What a lovely blessing! After I put my daughter to bed I got to spend the evening with this new goodie and it was good! 🙂 Thank you! It came at the right time, and I will get you back…somehow…you are a dear dear friend!
Broken
I am broken. And I am ready to fix it.
Prior to my (now failed) marriage I was spontaneous. I felt free to speak my mind. I didn’t need tons of reassurances from outside sources. I trusted that what I had to say people would want to hear whether it be funny or serious. I was a fair bit more extroverted.
Now, I am introverted. I feel uncomfortable with spontaneity. I feel uncomfortable speaking my mind. I automatically assume no one wants to hear what I have to say no matter what it is, and need all manner of reassurance to speak what is in my heart. I assume that people are not listening. I stick with a few close and trusted people and open to no one else.
But I am starting to see again what I am missing by being broken. I am denying no one but myself. The silence, anxiety, and sleepless nights hurt no one but me and my daughter. So I need to ask what I fear about speaking my mind? What do I fear in some spontaneity? What do I gain by holding myself back? One would assume that I continue in a pattern because on some level it is working for me.
This will now have to change. I am again starting to see that I am a decent and likeable person despite what has happened in my life. I see it even in my introverted shell. So now, when people ask me to go do things, I will evaluate if I actually want to do them or not. This decision must no longer be based in fear and anxiety but how I actually feel about the activity I am being asked to participate in. Fear is no longer a reason or an excuse. It isn’t even an option. 😛
One of my first projects.
I made this little dress for my daughter right after she was born. I was new to knitting at the time and was rather happy with how the project turned out. This year she might actually be able to wear it! I made it quite big as I was sure that I would not finish it in time.
It is just out of storage and isn’t looking perfect at the moment but I did want to get it recorded.
Dressed up
My daughter is looking particularly cute today so I thought I would share.
I was told she looks like she is thinking, perhaps about plotting a military coup!
Protected: Outwitting a two year old.
Fat Lip
She got a fat lip at school the other day. This is a picture of it. Hard to see, but you can now see 2 white spots where she bit it well.
Second picture is of her, she reminds me of a cat the way she steals my knitting to lay on. She is not picky, fully finished projects are fine, as well as skeins of yarn.
And the last picture is just cute, thats all there is to it!
Drama Queen
Today was drama queen’s first day back after getting her wisdom teeth “cut” out. She was in my office only briefly today. While she was here though, one of the faculty members asked her if she was staying all day. He hadn’t heard that she had gotten her wisdom teeth extracted. She said “Yes, I will be here if I don’t have to take pain pills, if I have to take pain pills, perhaps I will go home.” Now, doesn’t this sound counterproductive? You take pain meds in order to do the things you would normally have to do to get through the day. At least that would be my take on it.
Yesterday it snowed. And snowed and snowed. We had a pretty crazy storm but my entire office made it in to work regardless of the snow. Almost everyone else from the department did not bother to come in. They all had to use vacation days. We talked to our boss about being let out early due to the fact that they were closing roads, our faculty helped with the sales pitch as well. We were let go very early and we were paid for the rest of the day. No need to take vacation. I was thrilled with my half day and it was rather productive and relaxing.
Today, Drama queen informs us that, since she was home, she felt that she should call our boss and tell her to let us go early. Now I find it the height of self importance to think you have such pull over your boss! I am pretty sure she is digging her own grave.
I manage to wash the kitchen floor yesterday. I assure you this was completely unintentional on my part. I had attempted to just do the dishes. But I, being highly distractable, got started, left the water running, and walked away. Later I heard an odd noise in the kitchen and suddenly remembered that I had left the water running. The kitchen was a lake! I dropped all the towels I owned on the ensuing lake and just managed to save it from hitting the hard wood flooring. I then decided that I would now be forced to do two tasks that I wasn’t quite ready to do. Laundry and the kitchen floor. Oh well, it was a productive evening due to this little mishap!
Suzy Sells Sea Shells 