Happy Holidays!

I hope you are all enjoying the holidays and wish you a healthy, happy New Year!!!

We had a wonderful day yesterday with the kids. They all got lots of stuff they wanted and were incredibly happy. Dailaesse slept in her new Dora bed until about 4 this morning when she decided it was time to crawl into our bed so she could nurse. I don't expect this transition to happen over night. I didn't sleep well until she got in with us at 4. Her new little bed is only a foot away from ours but I was awake all night checking on her. I can't believe she slept so long. She must be comfortable. She's back there now. We'll see how long it last tonight. My cousins two are spending the night tonight so I'm hoping they don't wake her.

My son gave me a skeing of Opal and a skein of Fleece Artist sock yarn for Christmas. He picked them out and paid for them himself. I'm so proud of him. The Opal is a solid blue color. Perfect for a pair of socks for him. The Fleece Artist is blue and green and just gorgeous. Darcie made us the most beautiful decoration for the tree with her picture on it. She decorated it herself with pretty glitter pens and dated it too. It's hanging on the tree and will each year from now on. I look forward to the ornaments the kids make. They make me smile when I pull them out of their cases to put them on the tree each year. My hubby got me 3 skeins of Fleece Artist and 6 skeins of Cherry Tree Hill Possum. This is the first year that any of them have gotten me something from the yarn store. I've asked for many years too. Mom and Dad got me 2 new pairs of jammies, 2 shirts, some fluffy slipper socks and cold hard cash. :-) I'll be heading to the yarn store this week. And I promise to post pictures soon. The house looks like a tornado blew through and I need to get organised.

Adrienne...I need you to send me an email. I don't have your address. I thought for sure I did but I can't seem to find it. I'll try to look again tonight but in case I don't get time drop me a note. I can't wait to get your goodies out to you!

Things have been crazy and I'm putting that mildly. Dan and Darcie told their father that they don't want to go visit him anymore on Tuesday night. He blew up and threatened to smash them into the ground. Great guy huh? Then he made them do their chores before letting them get their homework done. I stayed up with them until 11pm helping them to get their homework finished, getting them showered and then getting them calmed down and into bed. My poor little Darcie Jae was so upset by the wayhe treated them that we had to pull over on the way home because she thought she was going to vomit. I've been praying for a long time that the kids would find the strength to stand up to him. I'm very proud of them for being so strong. I'm also scared that their father might hurt them for standing up to him. I've contacted a new lawyer and hope to meet with him soon so we can get back to court to try once again to get the visitation order modified. Keep your fingers crossed for my babies. They're going to need it. Since all this has happened we've decided to cancel our trip to Buffalo. I want to be close to home in case something does happen. Hopefully their father will decide to honor their wished and let them come home. I don't want to be more than 6 hours away in the winter if that happens.

I got my final package from my wonderful Secret Pal last week as well. Susan has been so good to me and I just can't thank her enough. She sent 2 gorgeous skeins of Noro Kureyon, a great quilt book and Modular Knits. Again, I promise photos soon. :-) Susan, thank you so much for making my first SP experience so wonderful!!! I'm looking forward to reading your blog now so I can get to know you a little better. Hope you had as great a time as I did!

Anyone have any big plans for New Year's Eve??? We'll be sitting at home on our lazy asses where it's nice and warm watching the ball drop on TV like usual. Yeah, we're real party animals.

We Have a Winner

Ok guys, this stomach bug made not only it's maiden trip through the house but decided to cycle back again. The only one who hasn't had it is Bran. I hope he doesn't have it for Christmas. It leaves you with a nice queasy tummy for a week or more. Which isn't good when you have 3 barfing babies. Trust me. I'm still not sure if I got sick again because I had the bug or because my stomach wasn't strong enough to handle it yet. Yuck.

We managed to have a nice trip to Albany without anyone getting ill. That's always a plus. Dailaesse and I hung at the hotel in the morning because I let Bran take the van to school instead of bringing him. They got about 2" of snow and some freezing rain. Since I don't know the area we were in very well I decided I really didn't want to be out on the roads with the freesing rain in the morning rush hour traffic. We had lots of fun jumping on the bed and riding the "alligator" back and forth to the vending machines. Bran picked us up when he got done for lunch and we went to Wendy's. I dropped him back at school after lunch and we ventured out for gas. We went back and waited for him in the college parking lot since they only had about an hour of class after they got done lunch. Dailaesse took a little nap and I listened to the country station on Sirius. After class let out we made our way to the Periwinkle Sheep. Even though I planned to behave myself and just browse (yeah right) I found myself weak and left with this. The good news is that I filled my frequent shopper card and now get 15% off my next purchase. I smell a road trip coming after Christmas. If you're ever in the Albany area be sure to stop by and say hello to Karen. She's super sweet and has an incredible shop with lots to choose from. We left there and headed to the mall where I pretty much finished my shopping. We stopped in Clifton Park for dinner and then started home about 8pm. The roads were bare until we pulled into Saranac Lake at 10. We always joke that we can tell we're getting close to home when the weather and roads get crappy.

Wanna see a few of the newer things I've been working on? There's this pair of Mountain Colors Bearfoot for Dan's size 12 men's feet. Ugh. Then there's the little wrap for Dailaesse made from Patons Astra which is really dragging. I've got a couple others I need to take pictures of. Just need to quit being so lazy and get click happy.

Think I should announce the winner now? Do ya? Do ya? Huh? Huh? Huh? Ok, the winner of the 12 Days of Christmas contest is...

Adrienne

Congratulations Adrienne! I'll be sending you an email shortly so I can get some more info from you.

Thanks again to everyone for playing along. It's been so great getting to know all of you better. I'm looking forward to the next contest. I think I'll work them around the Secret Pal contest again.

Thanks too for your well wishes and for being such a wonderful caring bunch of friends. This blog would be nothing to me without you all!!!

Thank You Sandie!!!

I have to share with you the amazing gift I received from Sandie today. 6 absolutely gorgeous hand crafted ornaments and the most beautiful card!!! For me!!! I feel so loved and spoiled! The snowman, stocking, heart and angel are already on the tree. The large snowflake is hanging in the dining room window and the wreath is hanging on the inside front door. Thank you Sandie for taking time out during the busiest time of the year to spend some of your precious time doing something so wonderful for me. I can't tell you how much it means to me and how much I appreciate you for doing it.

And while I'm being all gushy...thank you everyone for your well wishes, understanding and friendship. I consider myself so fortunate to have such a wonderful group of friends. I really tend to throw myself into the kids and rarely take time out for myself. This blog is one of the little things I do for me and I thank you for making it such a rewarding experience!

Now with that said, I still haven't drawn a winner yet. I finally felt better this morning but I've been on the run since since 7 getting ready to leave tonight. Poor little Darcie ended up with the bug that's going around the house night before last. She stayed home from school yesterday and was back to her usual self this morning. I will be home late tomorrow night so will get the winner posted on Saturday. My friend Diane is coming over Saturday so I think I'll crown her "Name Picker-er" for the drawing. :-)

I hope you're all staying warm. It was 24 below yesterday morning and never got above zero yesterday. Brrr! It warmed up to 27 today and now they're calling for snow. Lots of snow. And freezing rain. Can't wait to travel tonight and tomorrow.

Sick Day

I really hate to keep everyone waiting but I've been so sick the last couple days that I haven't spent much time doing anything other than laying on the couch. Dailaesse threw up last Wednesday and Thursday. Of course like usual the little peanut goes from sick to well in 60 seconds. I didn't think a lot of it because there's been a bug going around. Then after all the running I did over the weekend I thought when she puked again Saturday night that it was from being over tired. Which could totally be my problem too. I don't get enough sleep and then I get really run down and it takes forever for me to bounce back. Last night I piled 4 comforters on top of me and still couldn't get warm. I knew I was in trouble when I started throwing up though. I hate to be that sick. I'm so glad it only happens every 10 years or so. I feel better today but I'm still tired and I ache all over. I've only checked my mail a couple times today and have done as much as I can before I get dizzy and need to lay down again.

Monica J, triciak1523, Denise, Meg Peters, Heavenly Evil, Ollie, Erin, knittinannie, Lisa D, Becky and Adrienne all got entries for the 11th.

And SandyK, Joyce, Lisa, Ollie, Erin, Laura, Shara, Cindy Lee Lee, auntgerry, Becky, Shanidy and Donna S for the 12th.

Congrats everyone! I promise to get my act together and draw a winner later tonight or tomorrow.

Bah Hum Bug

I can't believe how far behind I am on my posts! I'm sure you're all on the edge of your seats wondering who got entries for the past few days so here goes:

8th - Heavenly Evil, Meg Peters, Adrienne, Leslie, Aunt Gerry, Shelby, Erin and Lisa

9th - knittinannie, Meg Peters, Laura, Jeanie Townsend, Monica J, Gretchen, Steph, Cindy Lee Lee and StarzAbove

10th - Deborah Douglas, Leslie, Erin, Ollie, Sharlene, Joanseely, SandyK, Laura, Toni and Donna S

If I make it for 2 more hours I'll post the entries for today as well. But don't stay up holding your hands on your hind ends...they might take root.

I've spent the last 3 days shopping. I'm almost done and it's a damn good thing. I want to torch the malls and gouge the eyes out of the next rude ass shopper that pushes me out of their way and doesn't even take a second to say they're sorry. Honest. I told a woman in Gander Mt. today that she was lucky that I was a lady because if I wasn't I would throw her to the floor and kick the living shit out of her. She stormed off in a huff after that. Bitch. I was trying to look at boots for Dan. I wasn't even in a main aisle. I was about 3 tables deep OFF the main aisle. But the main aisles are congested with shoppers and some people are in a huge yank to get God knows where. Reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw when I was in second grade..."Drive like hell and you'll get there." I wonder if there's a special place in hell for nasty shoppers? I'll be leaving Thursday night for an overnight in Albany where I plan to finish my shopping on Friday. All I can say is if you're in Albany and push me you better hope like hell your pants are padded with Charmin 'cause if not, I refuse to be held responsible for your bruised ass.

I've Got Gas

Sorry to be so tardy but just in case you've lost count, there's only 16 more days until Christmas. Yikes! Some how writing it out myself makes it even more real.

Toni, Erin, knittinannie, Laura, Meg and Wannietta all got entries for the 6th and Meg, Cecily, Leslie, Adrienne, Lisa D., Joan and SaraCate for the 7th. Congrats ladies!

Just a quick silly story before I head off to bed...

Tuesday night we had to run to the grocery store. Since we were in Lake Placid we decided to go have dinner before we went shopping. As we pulled into the parking lot Bran mentioned that gas was only $2.31 at the station across the street. That's 10 cents cheaper than it is in Saranac Lake. I decided I'd stop when we got done and fill the van. Like usual, nothing ever goes according to plan and we didn't get done dinner until almost 8pm. This meant there was no time for groceries. BUT there was a few minutes to run to Sue's to fondle yarn. "Sue's open until 9 tonight. Since there's no time for grocery shopping would you mind if I ran down quick?," I asked my hubby. He of course said he didn't mind but reminded me of the time (we had to be out to Lake Clear by 8:30 to get the kids) and the fact that I said I was going to get gas. "How about I go to Sue's first and then if there's time I'll get gas?," I asked. He pointed out that the gas station was right across the street. I pointed out that Sue's was only around the corner. Guess who won? In all fairness, I DID have a half tank of gas already. Of course by last night I was almost empty. So when we were over there last night to get the two oldest new boots I finally stopped for gas. Hey, admit it...if you had the choice between saving 10 cents a gallon or spending a few minutes in heaven which would you do?

Ice Cold Milk and an Oreo Cookie

Names drawn for the 5th:

Lisa D., Leslie, Meg Peters, Shelby and Adrienne

Dailaesse loves Oreo cookies. When she asks for a snack, 99% of the time she asks for Oreos. She especially loves the holiday colored Oreo cookies. They amaze her. There is nothing like the way her little face lights up when she sees a new color. Surprise and excitement all rolled up in one look. Ah, to be young again. Now, when Dailaesse was first introduced to Oreo cookies, she ate the whole cookie. That didn't surprise me. It takes time for kids to realize that the best part of the Oreo is the middle. But time after time, cookie after cookie, Dailaesse continued to eat the entire thing. I worried. Could there be something wrong with my baby? Will she ever develop the disdain for the crunchy, brown cookie part that all the other children have? Of course she will. And she did. Last week. Now mind you, it didn't happen immediately. She began swaying towards the creamy middle. Slowly at first. Twisting the outer cookies apart to reveal the "lummy" middle. Stealing little nibbles of the crunchy cookie part after eating the middle so as not to make the cookies feel left out. Then today while all three of the kids enjoyed an Oreo and milk snack after school Dailaesse let her true feelings be known. "This brown cookie part really sucks!"

Well it does.

Secret Pal 7

I've signed up to hostess the next round of Secret Pal. I'm very excited. It's a lot of fun to participate in this exchange. If any of you are the least bit interested I highly recommend you learn more by visiting the website. I spoiled Jennie, a dear sweet woman who I've been so lucky to get to know better over the past few months. I still don't know who my spoiler is and I can't wait to find out.

Adrienne, knittinannie, Shara and Wannietta all have entries for the drawing. Congrats!

He Knows When You've Been Bad or Good

The other night Dailaesse was being all kinds of stubborn about getting washed up and putting her jammies on. I tried everything. Bribing, begging, pleading. Then I remembered that there's only a month left until Christmas. So I pulled out the big guns. "You know, Santa is watching you right now. He sees you all the time. He won't come leave you any presents if you don't behave." Dailaesse looks around the living room and responds appropriately, "He can't see me. He's not here in my house. He won't be here for weeks." I explain that Santa is magic and he can see her all the time. "No he can't. He's at his home at the North Pole. That's a long far ways away." I reiterate that Santa is magic and he can see us where ever we are from where ever he is. "That's just ridiculous. He can't see me. Besides, I plan to be good at Christmas when he brings my presents. He'll see me then and know I'm a good girl." Any bets on how long Dailaesse believes in Santa?

Jennie (my Secret Pal from the SP6 exchange...HI JENNIE!!!), auntgerry and Erin got entries for yesterday. Congrats! Please be sure to include your email address for me when you post so I can contact you if you win. If I draw your name and have no way to contact you I'll have to draw another winner. If you don't want to leave your email on Blogger I totally understand and if that's the case my email address is posted in the side bar. You can just click it and send me a quick note. Thanks!

Queen for a Day

Missemilysmom was drawn from the comments for the 1st and Adrienne and Lisa D. for the 2nd. Congrats!

Thanks to all for sharing your stories with me! I've had so much fun reading through the comments. The Dora bed arrived on Thursday. The UPS dude motioned for me to hide Dailaesse as he was coming down the road. Thankfully my dad was home and out in his yard so he grabbed the boxes for me and I took Dailaesse for a walk out back. The bed came in the box it's packed in. She would have lost it right there in the front yard if she had seen it. We won't set it up until Christmas day after she opens it. Maybe she'll be so tired from all the excitement that she won't argue about sleeping in it. I plan to put it in our room to start. Ease her into the idea of sleeping by herself. Although after what she said I don't know that it'll really be a problem. Later that day she got in my face and told me she wasn't going to have to sleep in the middle anymore and that she was glad because I stink. WTF??? I shower everyday. Honest.

Meg in Arizona, Heavenly Evil and Bev please contact me at kerrycrone at adelphia dot net about the scarf exchange. I'd love to add more the exchange if you'd still like to participate.

I took my mom running around town today. She wanted to stop at the dollar store before we went home. Wandering around this toddler's paradise, Dailaesse found about $20 worth of Disney Princess accessories. When we got home we stayed at my moms for a bit and Dailaesse opened all of her new treasures. When my dad and Bran came in from down back my dad whistled at Dailaesse and said, "Well hello Queenie. Don't you look beautiful." Dailaesse's response? "You said I'm a queenie? Uh, NO. I'm a princess." Daddy apologized profusely for the terrible error he had made.

Scarf Exchange - Attention Bev

Hi Bev! You signed up for the scarf exchange and sent your address but I still need your last name and email address. If you could please forward it to me at kerrycrone at adelphia dot net I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!!!

Dora

Where's your post for a giveaway entry? Huh? Huh? Just to recap, I'll choose 78 names between now and the 12th for my current contest. The winning name will be drawn from those names and be announced on the 13th. Good luck and have fun!

The scarf signup is closed and I'll be emailing you all your partners today. If you want to share photos let me know. I'd be more than happy to post them in my album for all to see. Don't forget, you have until the 16th of January to get them in the mail.

It's been so busy around here lately I haven't been taking the time to share many stories with you. I'm overdue. Are you ready? Here goes:

This past weekend Dan came to me and asked if he could do some Christmas shopping online. I agreed to let him use our card and he sat down to start shopping. He had some ideas of what he wanted to get and asked where the best places would be to find them. The first person on his list was Dailaesse. He said he had seen a Dora TV advertised on a commercial not too long ago and thought he might like to buy her that. I said I had seen them at Sears and Walmart so we decided to check Walmart first. While we were looking for the TV he spotted a Dora toddler bed. He thought this was a better idea. I said I wasn't so sure as Dailaesse still sleeps with us and I think we're going to have a hard time getting her out of our bed. I told him he should ask her about it first. He did. She stopped dead in her tracks and stared at us. I could hear the wheels turning as she thought about this. Dora is her favorite TV character after all. Then it happened. She clutched her chest, started jumping up and down and she screamed...

"Son of a bitch!!! I'm free!!! I'm getting my own Dora bed!!!"

So the Dora bed (along with a Dora bedding set compliments of her big sister Darcie) should be arriving some time today. I hope she's as excited about it when it comes time to sleep in it as she was Saturday.

Hats Off

I whipped up a hat for Darcie yesterday from a skein of Noro Silk Garden. I love the way it turned out. A little shorter than what I would wear but it's exactly what she wanted. I had my doubts as to whether one ball of Silk Garden was going to be enough or not but it was and I even had a fairly decent amount left over. Darcie was so thrilled with her new hat that when I went up to tuck her in last night she was wearing it. She had already fallen to sleep and was laying there nice and snug in bed, drool pooling up on her arm, with her new hat on. I really knew she liked it when she wore it to school this morning. It's one thing to wear something in the house but wearing it in public is a totally different beast all together.

Ch-Ch-Changes

Ok, so I didn't think this contest thing through as well as I should have. Adrienne pointed out that it would be more fun to do it a little differently. I agree. What I will do is draw 1 name on December 1st, 2 on December 2nd, 3 on December 3rd and so on until we get to December 12th when I will draw 12 names. I will then draw one final winner from all 78 for the grand prize on December 13th. Sounds like a lot more fun, no? This way I can still keep everyone on the edges of their seats. ;-)

And about the scarf exchange...

A lot of people have asked what type of yarn is ok to use. I say whatever you have is great. If you plan to use wool you should check with your partner when they are assigned to be sure they aren't allergic. I think the most important aspect of making something for someone else is the time, effort and love that goes into making it, not the material used. I would be just as thrilled with a scarf made with Red Heart as I would be with a scarf made from cashmere. Honest.

I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day! I told you all how I planned a big dinner for just the 3 of us here at home right? Like usual, if something can go wrong here it will...and it did. I cooked the damn turkey for 4.5 hours. 1 hour longer than the package said to. Bran took it out of the oven to carve it while I mashed the potatoes. "I don't think the turkey is cooked yet," he says. What's my response? "You've got to be shitting me!!!" So the potatoes, stuffing, beans and rolls were all done but the turkey was still rare. We were starving. So we ate. I put the turkey back in the oven and cranked the heat to 400 degrees. An hour later the meat-o-meter said it was well done. We then ate turkey. After dinner I sent the carcass over to my mom. She has the patience to pick it clean. I don't. She called a little while later to tell me that the dark meat was still raw. What??? I hereby officially proclaim Thanksgiving 2005 "The Day the Turkey Refused to Die."

Happy Anniversary

Today is my wedding anniversary. 5 years ago today Bran and I vowed to love and cherish each other forever. He's certainly done a phenomenal job holding up his end of the deal. We've had our ups and downs just like any married couple but there have definitely been far more ups than downs. Bran is my best friend. He is caring, patient, kind and loving. He is smart. He is funny. He makes me laugh. He is loyal, honest and trustworthy. He is the most amazing dad in the whole entire wide world. (If you don't believe me just ask our 3 children.) He's an incredible provider. He is supportive and encouraging. He lets me sleep in on the weekends. He never bitches about the amount of yarn I bring into the house. And best of all, he's my husband.

I love you Bran!!! Happy anniversary!!!

Happy Turkey Day

I wish you all a wonderful day with family, friends, good food and lots to be thankful for. I have to say that the things I am most thankful for stay fairly constant throughout the years. My beautiful children, Brandon, my parents, my family and friends, God, a comfortable home and food in the fridge. I am truly blessed. Even though Thanksgiving isn't my favorite holiday I do like that it reminds me of this fact.

Even though I said we weren't doing the turkey thing today, I caved at the grocery store last night and bought a bird. Partly because they didn't have the roasting chicken I wanted and partly because I realized that Bran and I haven't had a Thanksgiving of our own. Ever. We've always gone to my parents, his mothers or out. Since we weren't having turkey anywhere else this year and since Dan and Darcie had no desire to have it here at home I decided to cook one for just the 3 of us. I thought we'd have some turkey and mashed potatoes...maybe some green beans. Then I got up this morning feeling in the mood to cook. So my turkey is ready for the oven, my potatoes are peeled, I've got homemade dough rising for rolls, I took out a box of Stove Top and I just sent Bran to the store for some cranberry sauce. I should have known better to think that I'd be satisfied with only part of a Thanksgiving feast. It's either all or nothing. No middle of the road for me.

Happy, happy Turkey Day!!! (((Gobble Gobble)))

12 Days of Christmas

Everyone ready for a new contest? I know I am! Here's the scoop:

Next Wednesday, December 1st will begin the new contest. The first comment left for that day will be entered to win. The second comment left on December 2nd will be entered to win. The third comment left on December 3rd will be entered to win. Get the idea? The last day will be December 12th when the 12th comment left will be entered to win. I will then draw one winner from the 12 entries.

Sound like fun???

In the meantime, I've had a few people respond to the idea of a scarf exchange so let's get that rolling. If you want to participate please send me your name and snail mail address so I can pair you up with a partner. I'll need to hear from you before December 1st as I'll assign partners that day. You'll have until January 16th to get your scarf in the mail to your partner. I know it's a long time for a scarf but I also know how precious a knitter's time is during the holidays. This will give everyone plenty of it to get finished.

Champagne Wishes & Opal Dream(catcher)s

I can't believe it's Monday again already. The past few days have been a blur. We've been super busy with the kids. This being and "odd" year (meaning 2005) poor Dan and Darcie have to spend Thanksgiving with their asshole father. So we had our Thanksgiving last night at my parents. No turkey. Dan and Darcie are going to be burnt out on Turkey come Thursday so we decided to have ham. Then my father decided to have roast beef because he doesn't care much for ham. But Dan was all puckered up for ham. So we had both. We had stuffing, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, gravy, rolls and fruit salad. Yummy, yummy. (Oops...sorry to go Wiggles on you there.) It was so good. We came home from dinner last night and I just wanted to curl up in a ball on the couch and go to sleep. Instead of doing that though, I had to help Dan with a social studies report. Then Diane came over to show me her scarf. She's working on the Twisty Scarf and it's coming along nicely. She's also working on a pair of clogs and 2 other scarves. I think she's addicted.

I taught some magic loop sock classes over the weekend at Adirondack Yarns. Over all they went really well. Much better than the last clog class. One poor girl hadn't knit in quite some time and couldn't remember how to purl. She was going to come back on Sunday for help but she didn't. I hope she isn't so discouraged that she gives up. I'll have to check with Sue to see if she has her name and number.

If any of you are as addicted as I am to socks wait until you hear this news. My friend Nicole lives in Germany and has given me permission to give you all her email address as a source of Opal yarn. The new Dreamcatcher line is out over there and it's gorgeous. They're only $11 per ball and shipping isn't bad either. I've been patiently waiting for this new line for what feels like forever. I'm having Nicole send me all 8 balls and the shipping is only $10 for the whole package. If you're interested just let her know and be sure you tell her you heard about her here so you get lower pricing. The more she orders, the more she saves and then the more we save. I love the trickle down effect in this case!

Friends Forever

For the past 2 days I've been on a scarf kick. I found this pattern while browsing a couple weeks ago and decided I had to have it. It arrived in the mail a few days later and then sat for days. I finally decided to get my arse in gear and make one to see how it would turn out. This is the first one I made night before last out of Baby Alpaca Grande. This (Like my model? It's very sophisticated, no? It's my white shirt draped over the handle of the vacuum. Dan's says it's a great prop.) is the second I made last night out of Suri Dream. This pattern is awesome! It's very easy to memorize and works up so quickly. I love it. Now I won't feel guilty about starting one of the lovelies in the new book my secret pal sent me.

Not only was I lucky enough to receive another incredible box from my secret pal, but look what arrived in the mail from Toni. A new hat and mittens for Dailaesse. She loves them and they fit great! Toni also sent 2 of her wonderful room freshners and a little candle that she makes herself. They are so great! I love that you can actually smell the scents without them being overpowering. Most times things like this aren't nearly strong enough or if they are they give you a headache. These are just right! Thanks so much Toni for being so kind!!!

I consider myself fortunate to have made such wonderful friends here. Thank you all for being you!!!

Oh Goody...Goodies!!!

It rained all day yesterday. I had a ton of errands to run. My hair frizzes up like the Bride of Frankenstein's when it gets wet. See how my day was going? I heard the mail truck coming up the road and thought, "Oh great. Another trip out into the rain." I thought of leaving it for Bran to get when he got home but then remembered that he was going to be late because he had to pick the dog up from the groomer. I sucked it up and ran down the drive to the box. Boy am I glad I did! Imagine my surprise when I saw a big box sitting on the mail post. I grabbed it to see who it was from...my secret pal! I grabbed the rest of the mail and ran back to the house. I couldn't get the box opened fast enough. Look what I got!!! 2 incredible skeins of yarn, Colinette's Tagliatelli and Shaggy from Wool in the Woods. Tagliatelli is a yummy merino tape and the Shaggy is the almost like chenille but 1000 times better because it's soft and smooth and silky and...oh my! I think I'll use the yarns for some scarves from the Scarves: A Knitter's Dozen book that was in my box. There are some amazing patterns in that book, let me tell ya! I also got a copy of The Knitter's Gift, a healing garden starter kit, bathing gloves, a Jing Garden in a can, a grocery pad and magnet with sheep on them and a Mom's Apple Pie scented Yankee votive candle. I feel so spoiled and lucky! Thank you, thank you, thank you Secret Pal!!! You've really outdone yourself!

Today has been really strange. It was 78 degrees this morning but VERY windy. Gorgeous. Especially for mid November. Then the rain came. The temperature dropped to 42 degrees. Then the power went out. At 11 this morning. It's now 2 in the afternoon. The power just came back on. Have you any idea how many times it takes you to explain to a toddler that the television, CD player, DVD player, lights and everything else in the house don't work when the power is out??? Me either.

No Use Crying Over Spilled Soda

I wasn't very productive this weekend. I really wanted to play with some socks for the magic loop class this weekend but only made one quick pair with worsted yarn. This was a freebie pattern from the internet that one of the girls at Adirondack Yarns found. I decided to make the socks big enough for Dailaesse. She loves them and so do I! This yarn was so nice to work with. It's Karaoke by South West Trading Company and is 50% soy silk and 50% wool. Drop Sue an email (adirondackyarns at adelphia dot net) to see what she has available if you're interested. It's so soft and silky and I absolutely love the way the colors change. I'm hoping to have enough left from the ball to make another pair. I plan to give the participants of the class the choice between making these with size 7 needles or making a pair with fingering and size 1 needles. Just need to whip up the pair with fingering weight to see how the pattern works for them. I think it should be fine.

I had a ton of stuff to do this weekend and didn't get half of it done. I spent the morning Saturday driving to the vet that was on call for our normal vet (why do they have to refer you to someone out of town???) who was away for the weekend. Mickey had worms. Poor little man. We noticed Friday night just after dinner that he had them. I can't stand it when the animals are sick and I especially hate worms. When we brought Dixie home she was loaded with them. There is nothing worse than the thought of parasites feeding on your pets and crawling in your home. Yuck!!! Anyways, thankfully the vet didn't even want to see him so I was able to leave him home. I picked up the medication for him and gave it to him when I got home shortly after noon and by late afternoon the worms were gone. I was amazed at how fast the medication worked. We kept him quarantined for 24 hours after we had given him the medication to be safe. With the baby in the house I'm a little anal about things like that. So all the things I wanted to do turned into sterilizing the house. I bleached everything. Probably overkill I know but again, I'm anal.

Bran started decorating for Christmas yesterday while the weather was nice. I finished cleaning around 3pm, took a shower and then we decided to go to Plattsburgh for dinner. We stopped at Verizon for Bran's phone. Yup, yet another phone to exchange. This was his 4th phone since every time they replace it they send the same crap model. He came out of the store with his same phone in hand, got in the van and said they wouldn't replace it because they couldn't duplicate the problem in the few minutes that he had spent at the service counter. I went through the roof. I took the phone in and a little screaming and a few minutes later I returned to the van to let Bran know we needed to return in 20 minutes to get his new phone. That gave us time to go to the mall for him to exchange a couple tools that had broken. Too bad all stores aren't like Sears. They give you a new tool, no questions asked and send you on your merry little way. Verizon could learn something from them.

Anyways, after picking up his new phone we went to Applebee's for dinner. A few minutes after our appetizers came out Darcie knocked her soda over. Bran was able to catch the stream with napkins so she didn't get any on her or anyone else. Phew! We had a great dinner. The kids were really well behaved. We laughed and visited. Then the kids and Bran decided they wanted dessert. They all ordered. The waitress brought them out just after refilling all our drinks. As she passed Darcie's dessert across the table to her she knocked her filled-to-the-top-couldn't-get-anymore-in-glass-if-you-tried soda over. This time we weren't so lucky. Darcie was soaked. Her leg, her coat that had been sitting on the bench next to her, her shirt. Wanna know the best part??? The waitress never even apologized. After the ordeal at Verizon Wireless I didn't dare open my mouth. We paid our check and left. Darcie walked out with her coat wrapped around her waist so people wouldn't think she had peed her pants. Poor little angel. I tried making up for it by buying her some lottery tickets but she didn't win anything. She's usually pretty lucky. Guess last night just wasn't her night.

Kerry Needs

Yup, I did it. I succumbed to the need to be like everyone else. I've been seeing this on other blogs left and right lately so I thought it would be fun to do. You go to Google and type in "(Your name) needs" and then right down the 10 best ones. I had no intention of posting my findings until I actually saw them. It was too much fun...

1. Kerry needs to get much tougher with Bush.

Don't we all??? Oh, and that reminds me about the sign I saw outside a Baptist church. It read, "Would someone just give him a blow job so we can impeach him?" I found that quite amusing.

2. Kerry needs some of his wife's sauce.

Trust me, I'm saucy enough. And yes, I know it says "he." Seems John Kerry is much more popular than people thought as there are some people out there who can't stop talking about him.

3. Kerry needs to go away.

I do???

4. Kerry needs a push.

Might just help get some of these damn projects finished.

5. Kerry needs to capture Clinton's magic.

I thought that was Monica's job.

6. Kerry needs to answer.

What's the question???

7. Kerry needs to get jazzed about presidential campaign.

Get jazzed? About presidential campaign? Maybe if there was someone running to get jazzed about.

8. Kerry needs to win.

So true. Remember the Yahtzee story?

9. Kerry needs to keep up.

Boy do I ever.

10. Kerry needs a Korean history lesson.

It's true. (((sigh))) I don't know much about Korean history.

Now, as promised here is the hat and mittens I made for Dailaesse. She looks so cute in this set. I made them all a little big so she'll be able to wear them again next year. Maybe even the year after but I think that'll be pushing it. I didn't want them so big that they would be useless to her now either. They're just right for her now and later. I made the set holding one strand of Plymouth Galway 08 and one strand of Opal Magic 1043 together. I love how the set turned out.

And here's the new toys my hubby picked out for us. The keyboard was a little awkward at first because of the wrist rest but it is so comfortable. And I love all the quick buttons. Very handy. And the built in mouse is cool too. I just love this new set!

Hey, what would you all think about doing an exchange of some sort? Maybe a scarf or hat. Something quick and easy but fun at the same time? Let me know what ya think!

I'm So Excited

I finally finished the mittens for Dailaesse. Finally. I think the end of some projects really seem to drag on forever. I mean, they were only 1 1/2" thumbs but it felt like I had to knit for 1 1/2'. You know what I mean? Of course you do. As soon as I have my camera back I'll post a picture of the set. Bran took it with him to work today to take pictures of a vehicle and it hasn't found it's way home yet. I hope it doesn't come back all dirty like last time. Now I'm messing around with a simple pattern for a little sock for the class I'll be doing next week. I can't wait for the classes. Yup. One class has turned into 2. How cool is that??? The first one filled and Sue called the other day to ask if I'd be interested in doing a second the following day. Of course I couldn't resist!

Hmmm...that makes 2 things I'm really excited about.

The second is my lovely new wireless keyboard and mouse. That's right baby..WIRELESS. I'm so excited that I can hardly stand it. I wasn't all that stoked about it until it came today and I opened it. It's so cool. I can curl up in the rocker and put the keyboard on my lap and type 'til my little heart's content. The mouse has leather on the top of it. My husband picked the set out when our old mouse started crapping out. LOL Get it...mouse...crapping. Ok, maybe it's only funny to me. Anyways, my husband is a technology freak. And when he said he wanted a wireless mouse AND keyboard and I said fine he got busy trying to find the perfect one. I think he thought he had died and gone to heaven when he found "The Executive" Microsoft set. He called from the living room..."Honey, it's got a leather wrapped mouse just like the steering wheel in the van." If it has something that he can relate to a vehicle it's even better. So we ordered it up on Monday and were told it was to arrive next Monday. Imagine my surprise when I went out to the post office this afternoon and the box fell on my feet when I opened the front door. As soon as I opened the box I was hooked. I couldn't wait for Bran to hook it up when he got home from work this afternoon. I'm having a hard time getting use to the built-in wrist thing but it so kicks ass. Again, pictures will follow when I get my camera back.

My little doll is sleeping already. I plan to go do a little more laundry and then hit the feathers. My parents are going shopping tomorrow. That usually means presents for us. I'm hoping for a new coffee maker. Keep your fingers crossed for me. ;-)

Nice Guys Finish Last

I'm still trying to find time to get Dailaesse's mittens finished. So far it hasn't worked out. The cold weather at night makes me want to snuggle up under the comforter and go to sleep. I haven't even been able to keep my eyes open for Letterman the last couple of nights. Soon though...I promise. I have so many projects I want to start but I need to be disciplined and finish some of the ones I have waiting for me already.

Remember I told you a while back about the man who lives up the street? He blacked out at the drive-thru at the bank and drove his car into the cement basement of a house across the road. He was in really bad shape the day of the accident. So bad that the priest read him his last rites. Miraculously, he snapped out of it and was released from the hospital a few days later. The doctors found a tumor about the size of a gum ball in his brain. It was in a spot that commonly causes seizures. He was sent to Boston to see a specialist and starts chemo soon. The tumor has attached itself in a way that makes operating impossible. We were just sick over all this. This man had been so good to Bran. He helped him out with advice on several occasions and on many more just provided some good friendly conversation. Mike and his wife are from California and have no family here just like Bran. Bran and I both offered to help in any way we could. Bran has made countless trips up the street to check on him, visit and help with things around their house. He's called on the days that he doesn't get up there to check in and make sure they don't need anything.

The van he was driving was totaled. A local garage towed his van to their lot and left it there for the weekend. They charged him over $400 for this. A man he knows has a vacant spot of land on a quiet street in the village. They had the van towed there and left. In our village though you can only leave a junk vehicle for a certain amount of time. Since the vehicle has been there more than the allotted time it had to be moved quickly. So last week Mike calls Bran and tells him he has to get the van out of there and asks if Bran wants the van for parts. He tells him if he wants it to go get it and that he doesn't want anything for it. So Bran has this great van that he bought for $300 sitting out at work that needs an engine. It's a 2002 and it's loaded. We're talking everything but the kitchen sink. No rust, no dents, no nothing. It's perfect, except for the engine thing. The low book on the van is $8500. The engine in Mike's van is a perfect fit for the one that he already has. So Bran accepts the van with much thanks and appreciation and tells Mike about the van he has that needs to be fixed. Mike is interested in buying the van. Bran figures seems how he gave him his wrecked van with the good engine that he'll cut him a great deal on the van. Mike's quite happy and tells Bran when he gets the other van running to let him know and he'll take a look at it.

Last night we drove over to the other side of the lake to get the wrecked van. It took Bran about half an hour to get it ready to drive. The windshield is all smashed and it's not legal to drive so we had to call the police to let them know what we were doing. We got the van to the house and Bran called Mike to let him know that the engine and tranny still sound great and that it was out of the lot. Mike tells him his son called earlier and is bringing him a vehicle and is taking the wrecked van back with him. Oh, but if you still want it I want $700 for it. Bran said he could hear Mike's wife hollering $1000 in the background. WTF??? First it's free, no strings, not even a mention of using it to fix the other van and now it's $700. I'm livid. I told Bran we're bringing it back to the lot where it was after dinner tonight. We barely have room in the driveway for it to begin with but I figured seems how it would only be there for a week or 2 while he stripped it that I could deal with it. Bran is much more relaxed about things than I am. He can get an engine for the other van for about $300 so he said he would offer Mike that much for it. Nope. He will take no less than $700. Bran told him he was bringing it back to where it was and Mike asked why he couldn't just leave it here until his son comes this weekend. He also knows that I'm friends with the chief of police and most of the town cops so he knows leaving it here for an extended period of time wouldn't be a problem. And, he'd be damn lucky to get $50 for it in the shape that it's in. The passenger side is pretty much gone and the frame is broke so it can't ever be registered in NY again. Bran hurried up to go get it out so he wouldn't have to pay to have it towed or stored elsewhere and this is what he gets. I just can't believe it. Now mind you, we won't stop doing nice things for people because of this, but we certainly won't go out of our way for him anymore.

Thanks for listening to me vent! I promise more knitting soon! :-)

Dinner and a Show

Friday night we went to Plattsburgh to do some grocery shopping. Before we left the house I asked Dailaesse where she wanted to go for dinner. Blutcher Block. They have lummy steak and lummy french fries and coloring books and crayons. She said it quite matter-of-factly. When we got to Plattsburgh not quite an hour later I asked her if she still wanted to go to Butcher Block. Yup. So off to Butcher Block we went. Butcher Block is one of the best steak houses in Plattsburgh. It's not ultra fancy but it's not McDonald's either. You see where I'm going with this don't you? We went in and were seated. The waitress came to take our drink orders. Dailaesse ordered her own root beer and struck up a nice conversation with the waitress all about how root beer is her flavorite. No, the L's aren't typos...that's how Dailaesse pronounces some of her words. The waitress said how cute she is and told us that she's expecting her first baby and hopes that hers is as sweet and well behaved as Dailaesse. Then she tells us we can go to the salad bar and leaves to go get our sodas. That's when it happened. Dailaesse started bouncing in her seat chanting, "I don't want Blutcher Block." She was quiet and we distracted her by going to the salad bar. She ate a bunch of "baby" tomatoes and started chanting again. This time a little louder. The waitress came with our drinks and took our dinner orders. Steaks for Bran and Dailaesse and a yummy stuffed chicken breast for me. As soon as the waitress left the chanting started back up. We fed her more tomatoes. We asked for a coloring book. These worked for a bit then she had to go potty. I got up to take her to the bathroom and as soon as we got to the hallway that leads to the restroom she started screaming. I managed to get her into the bathroom so she could pee. There was an older woman in the bathroom smoking. I wanted to gag. It was so strong. She wasn't amused with Dailaesse's screaming. Serves her right for smoking in a public restroom. So after that I had to pretty much drag her back to the table. She didn't want to stay so I put her coat on and thought if I took her out and walked around the parking lot a bit she might settle down. Yeah right. She was fine while we walked. She visited and sang and was quite happy. As soon as we headed toward the doors she dug her heels into the ground and started screaming again. I tried to explain to her that her daddy was sitting in there waiting for us and that we at least had to go get him so we could leave. Nope. So I picked her up kicking and screaming and went into collect my husband and pay for our dinners which had thankfully just been brought out. Bran took the screaming meemie out to the van while I paid for dinner and waited for our wonderful waitress to box them up. I went back to the van, annoyed to think we had just paid for a dinner that we weren't going to get to enjoy, and told Dailaesse I was very disappointed with her. Her little face dropped and she looked at me with those beautiful big blue eyes and told me she was sorry but she didn't want Blutcher Block. I asked why and she offered no reason other than that she didn't want it. I couldn't be upset with that sweet little face. I asked Bran to go back in and ask if we could borrow some silverware so we could eat in the van. He returned a few minutes later with silverware, napkins and salt and pepper. I sat in back with Dailaesse so I could help her eat. We put in a movie. The little stinker ate almost all of her dinner. And we had a blast.

Dinner - $65
Eating in your van in the parking lot - priceless

So my friend Laura has to be one of the most talented designers I know. She just sent me a sneak preview for one of her latest designs which will be the November sock of the month over at Judy's. If you love knitting socks you've got to check this out. You get a new pattern every month (or every other month if you prefer) as well as the yarn to make the socks for only $16.95 a month(or every other month). :-) It's a great deal and there are some amazing patterns. Laura also has some of her patterns available for sale directly from her. You won't be disappointed with her patterns! They're not only beautiful and unique but they're useful as well. I can't wait to be able to get the new ones! She's also doing the December sock. I'm so excited!!!

Hope everyone's off to the start of a great week! It's very windy here today. We had some thunder and lightning last night with a little rain but otherwise it's been really nice for the past few days.

Busy Bee

It seems like we've been on the run all week long. Dan had his final football game Wednesday. He did an amazing job. I'm so proud of him and most importantly, he's very proud of himself. The high school coaches were there to watch and asked if he was planning to play next year because they want him. His coach told him he's a very strong player and suggested that he think about football camp this summer to work on his technique. Dan's very interested in camp but doesn't want to go unless one or more of the other players from his team will be going. I'm not sure how camp works. I don't know if they have to be referred for it or if anyone can go. I plan to talk to the coach next week to get all the particulars.

After the game we went to Malone (a 45 minute drive) to the KFC/Taco Bell for dinner. The kids love to go there. Dailaesse took a nap on the way so Dan and Darcie were able to watch one of their movies. That always makes them happy. We had a great dinner, considering it was fast food, and were home by 9:30.

Yesterday I went to see Sue. She had ordered some Addi Turbos for me again and they had arrived. When I got there I saw bags and boxes all over the store. I was so excited. New yarn! And lots of it. I got 2 skeins of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in solid shades of green and black. The green is such a beautiful shade. I also got a skein of Super Glitz in a beautiful blue colorway. The name is escaping me at the moment. I also got a hank of Fleece Artist Merino in a black and dark brown colorway. Very manly. I'm going to throw it in the air and let Dan and Bran fight over it. Dailaesse and I went to McDonald's for lunch and made it home just in time to pick Dan and Matt up from school.

I've been so tired with the change in weather. It doesn't help any that it's dark earlier at night either. I've had several nights in the past week that I've fallen to sleep putting the baby down. All this sleeping isn't getting much knitting done. I have managed to do a hat for Dailaesse and have started a set of matching mittens. I'm working with 1 strand of Opal Magic 1043 and 1 strand of Plymouth Galway 08 in case you're wondering. :-) I have one mitten finished with the exception of the thumb and am a little over halfway through the cuff for the second. She's very excited. She can't wait to wear them. I'm just glad that it has warmed up again so I have time to get them done. 5 or 10 minutes of knitting time here and there just isn't enough! I need to hire someone to clean my house. That would give me a lot more time to knit.

Tonight we're off to Plattsburgh for dinner and some grocery shopping. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Drum Roll Please...

And we have a winner...



SANDRA KNAPP!!! Congrats Sandra!

Thanks to all who played along once again. I've had so much fun with this. It's so nice to hear what and how everyone else is doing. Stay tuned 'cause you never know when I'll decide to do another one of these buggers. Maybe something for Christmas or New Years...that would be a blast!

I'm Late, I'm Late!!!

Sandra Knapp was the lucky name for yesterday folks. I still haven't drawn our lucky grand prize winner yet though. I know I promised a winner today but it's been a killer. I had to call in reinforcement about a half hour ago. How pathetic is it that my 2 year old is kicking my arse??? She spilled her milk all over the floor and while I was trying to clean that mess she decided it would be great fun to tear my plants apart (from the back of the couch that she was sitting on) and feed them to the dog (who's too stupid to realize she shouldn't be eating the plants) who promptly chewed them up and puked on the carpet at the bottom of the stairs.

Keep checking back because come hell or high water I will have a winner before midnight!

Wanna recap of the names in the running while you wait???

Michelle
Knitcrazy
Lisa D (2)
Mar
Nyxxie
Sandra Knapp (2)
Adrienne (2)
Teresa
Donna
Leslie
Donna in NY
Anita

Now dear readers, please excuse me while I go quietly have the nervous breakdown I so desperately deserve this evening.

Happy Halloween!

I started dinner early today so we could eat and get out out to trick-or-treat before it got really dark out. I put a nice roast in a Bag-n-Season (that's right baby...I'm all about the bag) along with some carrots, potatoes and onions. I started it at 3:15. It should have been done by 4:45. Not. We kept pulling it out to check the potatoes and carrots. 5pm...still crunchy. 5:15...still crunchy. 5:30...still crunchy. 5:45...still crunchy. 6pm...You've got to be shitting me!!! So Dan walked Darcie (who decided that she is much too old to go trick-or-treating this year) over to my parents to hand out our treats and we dressed the baby in her costume and headed out the door.

We drove across town to see Jim and Denise. Denise was home by herself passing out candy. Dailaesse went right up and said trick-or-treat, took her candy and said thank you. After all, even big purple dwagons have manners. We visited for a few minutes outside and then Dailaesse asked to go inside. She followed Denise right in the house and visited away. We went out to see the dog who was hanging out in the garage because he was afraid of the trick-or-treaters. She had a lollipop. Then she announced she wanted to go. So we left.

We headed back towards our house and decided to stop to see my aunt and uncle before heading home. They always have full size candy bars. Their house is the kids favorite place to go on Halloween. Dailaesse hopped out of the car and told us how she was going to say trick-or-treat and thank you to Uncle Gary and Aunt Linda. There was only one problem. My cousin Micahel was home. She's not use to seeing him. She screamed. Loud. Aunt Linda came flying out of the living room to see what was wrong. I told her I wasn't sure but it seemed to have started when Dailaesse looked at Uncle Gary. So Bran took Dailaesse out to the van and Dan and I stayed and visited for a bit.

We arrived home at 8pm and guess what??? The potatoes and carrots were finally done! We ate dinner and got the kids ready for bed. Dailaesse was especially tired even though she took a nap this afternoon. She stripped out of her costume as soon as we got home because she said she was roasting and then proceeded to put her snow suit on. I had to fight with her to get it off to put her to bed. I won. She is currently sleeping in her underwear while the snow suit hangs on the coat rack on the porch.

I'll announce the winner of the current contest tomorrow. Anita got an entry for the 29th and Lisa D. for the 30th. Congrats ladies!!!

I hope you all had a great Halloween!!!

Green With Envy

I wish I had a better picture of the cat. But by the time I had a chance to take a picture Brandon had already cleaned his face. Of course he couldn't clean the rest of him because he wouldn't sit still. And I couldn't get a better picture because he doesn't like to be photographed. The reason the cat had to be cleaned:

Dailaesse + Green Marker = Green Cat

Not that any more of an explanation is really needed but...Dailaesse found her green marker. She was very excited. I gave her paper. She was happily coloring away when I heard the cat meow. Not his usual meow. It was his "Mom please help me the baby is bothering me again" meow. Like I said, it was much worse. I was surprised that Bran was able to get as much off as he did. His nose and the white triangle between his eyes were completely green. Poor little fella.

I've drawn some more names...Adrienne for the 27th and Donna in NY for the 28th. Congrats ladies!

Potty Mouth

We went to dinner last night with our friends again. Back to the awesome pizza place in Lake Placid. Now normally I wouldn't choose to eat pizza a couple nights a week BUT this place is unbelievable. And it's closing. Yup. Just the way it goes around here. Find something you really like, have it once and find out it'll be gone in a week. So we decided we just had to get our fix. Plus we really wanted the kids to have some too. And yes, we took them all with us. We've instituted a strict "no child left behind" policy of our own. The pizza was even better last night than it had been on Friday. Of course I think that's due to the fact that I could actually sit and enjoy it without the incessant ring of the cell phone. Oh and by the way...I finally listened to the voice mails my father left last week...NOT nice. And, I always knew my father had quite the vocabulary but for the love of GOD!!! Ok, so the pizza was great and everyone was stuffed when we left. Especially Dan who ate a dozen wings before having 3 slices of this deep dish pizza. Let me tell you this, one slice of this pizza is a meal in itself. Seriously. It's thick and very filling. So about half way home my son informs me that he has to use the bathroom. Right. Now. I tell him I'm going as fast as I can and that we'll be home soon. A few minutes later Dan is sweating in the back of the van and he looks quite worried. I know my son REALLY well. I know that when I offer to stop at Burger King so he can use the bathroom that he's going to poo poo (ha ha) the idea. But I also don't want him to think I'm sadistic. So I offer. Dailaesse hollers from the back that she has to poop too and can't wait until we get home. She HAS to stop at Burger King. Now I'm really up Shit Creek (again with the funny). Do I stop and let her go or do I keep going and get Dan home as soon as I can. If Dailaesse isn't kidding and I risk not stopping I could be looking at a big mess. If I stop and can't get Dan home in time I could be looking at an even bigger mess. Dan tells me to stop at Burger King to let Dailaesse go and if he can't make it he'll use the bathroom there. This is big for Dan. He NEVER uses public restrooms and especially not if he has to poop. He goes all day at school and then through football without going. Yes, he has huge issues with public toilets. So I whip into Burger King and pull right up to the front doors. Bran jumps out and grabs Dailaesse and heads in with her. Dan sits for a minute and asks what the hell is taking them so long and how much longer I think they'll be. He ended up going in. Bran came back out with the baby and we waited. And waited. And waited some more. He finally emerged from the front doors. His face was red. Really red. He hopped in the van and told me to hurry. What??? You were just in there for 15 minutes. Don't tell me you couldn't go. Nope. That wasn't the problem. He had to go again. We hurried home and Dan jumped from the still rolling van to run into the house.

After Dan showered last night I went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. I was standing at the sink brushing my teeth when Dan came back in. He begged me not to put the left over pizza in his lunch. We laughed. He turned to leave and I noticed something odd. "Dan, are your boxers on backwards?" He looked down and flipped the waistband off his boxers over to look. Sure enough, they were. He stood there a minute and started laughing. "I did it on purpose. You know, just in case I have to go to the bathroom again really quick. The hole will be better in the back than the front. Think we could get a patent for that Mom?" That's my boy.

Leslie...congrats sweetie...your name was drawn from yesterday's entries!

It's All About Power

Dixie went to the vet yesterday. Turns out that the pretty green glow she's developed is just from the antiseptic they used to clean her with before her surgery. It has some sort of dye in it so they can clearly see the area they've cleaned. Bran sat at the office for an hour to learn this. I asked why they couldn't have just told us that over the phone. Seems as though the girl who answers the phone at the vet's office wasn't paying attention when I told her that Dixie's FUR and SKIN were green. The vet thought it was the incision. Nope, told her that looked great actually.

Leslie is going to read the title of today's post and think that I'm going to talk about my little Shih-Tzu (pronounced in our house shi-zoo so as not to encourage the kids, particularly Dailaesse, to say shit-zoo) humping the cat again. I had said that we were really hopeful that having her spayed would stop her from loving the cat. Leslie squashed what little bit of hope I had by telling me that Dixie having her way with the cat has nothing to do with sex and everything to do with power. Thanks Leslie. Thanks for pointing that out. You could have left me to dream of a hump free home for just a little longer. LOL Seriously though, I found that quite interesting. I never would have considered it a power thing. I just thought we had a horny defective little dog. I told Leslie that there's most likely going to be a whole lotta humpin' goin' on in our house as soon as Dixie is feeling better because the cat has taken over her crate. We have to take him out so she can get in. I put a blanket in her crate when we brought her home from the vet and the cat apparently likes the blanket. I put one down for him in his sleeping spot but he seems to prefer hers. I'm sure she's going to feel the need to show him who's boss.

Getting back on track...when I titled today's post I was actually referring to electricity. Which we lost last night. I was typing away merrily on the computer around 11pm when everything went black. Bran was in the garage. Did I ever tell you how petrified I am of the dark??? I did really well last night though. I felt my way out to the kitchen to the drawer where I keep my candle lighter all before Bran made it in from the garage. Want to know what caused the outage? Downed trees. Want to know what caused the downed trees? 8" of heavy, wet SNOW!!! Our power never came back on until 11 this morning. It was chilly. I was glad that I turned the heat up earlier in the evening because I'm sure that helped to keep it from really getting cold in here. We're lucky that our house holds heat as well as it does considering it's age and lack of proper insulation. School was cancelled today. Not due to the snow of course, but because of the power outage. I don't ever remember having a snow day in October. Of course even though we use to get a lot more snow than we do now it never use to start until Halloween. We've almost always gotten our first snow of the year on Halloween. I remember Dan's first Halloween he wouldn't go trick-or-treating because he was playing with a shovel and pail in the front yard. We're suppose to get another 6" later this afternoon and then rain tonight. That should make for a nice mess. I hope you're all warm and dry!

Almost forgot to post the name I drew for yesterday...Donna. Congrats!

It's Not Easy Being Green

I know I've been really bad about posting lately but it truly has been like a 3 ring circus around here. We had to take our little Dixie Do Poo Poo to the vet on Friday morning to have her spayed. She had to be there by 8 am. The vet called at 10 am and said she was out of surgery and was starting to wake up. They said we could pick her up between 3 pm and 4 pm. This is what my husband brought home from the vet. This was taken on Sunday. She was still mad. Today she's finally back to her perky little self. She's chasing the cat again. Not humping. Just chasing. We're hoping that having her spayed took care of that little issue. I've got to bring her back in this afternoon to have the vet take a look at her skin. It's green. Seriously. Her skin and hair has a green tint to it. It's not as bad as it was on Friday but it's still there. I'm thinking it can't be anything too serious because she's feeling frisky again. But still. Green???

Today was Darcie's field trip to the House of History in Malone. I went with Dan when he was in 4th grade so this time was Brandon's turn. I found the trip very interesting. It's the oldest home in Malone, and I want to say Franklin County but I'm not positive about that, and everything has been preserved. Including the people who work there. Again, seriously. And as I said, I found it very interesting, but 4th graders? Not so much. Those old ladies really get their knickers in a bunch quite easily. Not sure why they insist on dragging 3 classes of 4th grade kids through something like that. They have questions and they want answers. They get excited when they see certain things. It's a small house. Very small. But I digress. Bran sent me a text message about a half hour ago and said they were about 10 minutes from home. They should be here soon. He said he thought it was great and had a nice time. But the kids? Not so much. When will the school officials learn?

Congrats to Teresa! I drew your name for yesterday.

Puff the Magic Dragon

Well, it stopped snowing. We got about an inch and then it just stopped. On the bright side, we're suppose to have a foot by the end of the week. Looks like Santa won't have any trouble getting to our house this year. I never had to worry about that as a kid. There was always snow and plenty of it. It's not like that anymore. In fact, I had to have the talk with the kids a few years ago. You know the one right? The one where you tell them that it's ok that there's no snow. That Santa is magic and he and the reindeer can land on the roof no matter what. Still, it's not very reassuring to little ones who are use to snow at Christmas. I gotta admit, I wondered how the hell the fat old guy would land his sleigh on the roof with no snow. We left him a nice note with the milk and cookies that year and asked that if the sleigh or the reindeer took up any shingles that they kindly put them back before they left. I warned him there would be no milk, cookies, carrots or sugar the following year if I found pieces of my roof in the yard on Christmas morning. I'm happy to say we made it through the holiday with no problems.

So Puff the Magic Dragon. Or in my case, Puff the Pain in the Arse Teenager. I have to tell you, I never in a million years expected to have this happen in my house. I've kept an open mind. I've convinced myself that most kids at some point in time are going to experiment with cigarettes and alchohol and that I'm just going to have to be prepared for that day. But some where deep in the back of my mind I had decided that my babies would never be so stupid. Yup, you guessed it...Dan had cigarettes hid in his sock drawer. Wanna know how they were found? Dan paid his sister $10 to clean his room because he didn't want to do it. Darcie is very thourough. We sat him down and asked the usual questions. Who, where, why. He admitted right off that he had bought them from a friend (for $3) at school and had fully intended to try them. He says he didn't and I have to believe him. Being a former smoker myself, the smell of cigarette smoke is frightfully strong to me now. I quit 3 1/2 years ago when I foun fout I was pregnant again and never took it back up. In fact, I quit for all three of my pregnancies. Cold turkey the day the home test showed 2 lines. I was always quite proud of myself for that. And then when I started again after Dan and Darcie were older I felt like a loser. Anyways, we sat him down and had another talk about the dangers and stupidity of smoking, drinking and doing drugs. He was shaking and he cried. It takes a lot to make my little man cry. I know he got the point. I was very stern and serious when I talked to him. Later during the day when Bran and I were alone I sat down and started laughing. He paid $3 for a few cigarettes. And they weren't even a good brand. And he paid his sister to clean his room knowing that they were in there. I had to laugh. Silly boy.

I've drawn 2 more names. Sandra Knapp for the 22nd and Adrienne for yesterday. Congrats girls! You've earned an entry into the drawing at the end of the month for the goody box.

It's Raining, It's Snowing

That's right folks, it's October 22nd and it's snowing. How cool is that??? And I'm not talking a wimpy little dusting. I'm talking nice big, wet, heavy flakes. It's a little unusual even for us to have snow before Halloween but I'm not going to complain. Dailaesse was so excited on the way home from picking Dan and Darcie up this week. When we were at the play park yesterday and today she kicked the clouds while she was swinging to make it snow so we can get the sleds out. Most people wouldn't want to be held responsible for this sort of weather. Dailaesse proudly accepts all blame.

Before I forget, Mar was drawn from all the entries on Thursday and Nyxxie for Friday. It's been awfully quiet around here today. Up until a few minutes ago Bonnee was in the running all alone.

So much has happened in the past 2 days that I don't even know where to start. We went for dinner with our friends last night. I was going to take the baby but it got late. My mother wasn't feeling well and my father was, well, cranky. I decided to stay home with Dailaesse and have Bran go. Our friends insisted we bring Dailaesse so I changed plans and told Dailaesse she was coming. My father pitched a fit and told me I was crazy because it was too late and that I was going to leave her with them. I should have known better. When will I ever learn??? We hadn't even been sitting at the table for 5 minutes when the cell phone rang. Dailaesse was screaming. Yes, that little girl scream that makes your ear drums bleed. She wanted us to go home. Quickly. I thought if we just hurried up and ate that she'd quit screaming and lose track of time. Not. When we got home my mother told me she had cried herself to sleep. I feel like the worst mother in the world. She told me Dailaesse insisted she call the police and have them go find her mother. Smart little shit isn't she? I always wonder of the things I try to pound into the kids heads actually stick or not. Obviously this is one that has. If you are lost you find a police man and they will bring you home. She is listening. :-) So Dailaesse told me this morning that next time I was taking her with me. Which is what I wanted to do in the first place. Both of my parents made sure to tell me that I was horrible to leave her with them. What??? They told me to!!! Sometimes you just can't win.

The clog class was really something today. I was there for 6 hours. Yup. 6 hours. I set out for a 2 hour class at 9:45 this morning. This has got to be how Gilligan and The Skipper felt all those years. I think everyone really got a good handle on the process though and that's what I set out to accomplish. Even if it did suck the spirit right out of me. I lost the will to shop. Oh sure, there was fondling. But I just couldn't seem to commit to anything in particular. I'm such a tease.

Just A Little Bit Of Magic

Last night I called my parents to see if they were done dinner yet. They weren't. I asked my father to call when they got done because the kids wanted to see him in his new hat. Wanna know what he said? "Jesus Christ. Are you kidding?" I assured him that I was definitely not kidding. We wanted to see him in the hat and we wanted to see it when they were done dinner. Surprisingly enough, he called when they were done dinner. We bundled the kids up and headed across the yard. He modeled the hat and the kids were happy. They just wanted to see how the hat that they had helped make looked on their Papa. I told my father that a little enthusiasm would be nice seems how a lot of time and effort went into making the hat especially for him. I told him I was up after midnight working in ends. I told him how my hands had cramped. You know what he said? "Would you like me to go turn cartwheels in the road?" Why yes. Yes I would like that very much. And don't worry, should that ever happen I'll be sure to post the pictures.

I talked to Sue the other day and we scheduled a Magic Loop class for 10am on Saturday, November 19th. I'm very excited! If anyone is nearby and wants to sign up just give Sue a call. Now I just need to work on a simple sock pattern to bring with me. Seems how Dailaesse could do with some new socks I will make a pair for her. Sue thought it best to do something small so people can at least turn the heel while they're there and I totally agree with her. When we had first talked about doing the clog classes that was her idea too. Have everyone do the same size. And do the smallest size possible which was the childs x-small. Now a lot of people complained about having to do the childs size. They wanted to do something adult sized. Something they could wear. I get that, BUT. (I know, there's always a but.) Doing the smallest size allows the participants to go through the entire process of making the clog, or in this case sock. Beginning to end and everything in between. Know what happens when you don't get to work through the whole process? You can't finish your clogs, or socks. It really is best to do something small. And someone is bound to have a baby sooner or later right?

Knitcrazy was drawn from the batch of entries for yesterday. Congrats! Keep those comments coming in! I'm having so much fun reading everyone's comments. It doesn't get any better than this!

Morton Salt

Wasn't it Morton salt that had the little girl on the front with the umbrella skipping through the puddles? We have had a lot of rain for the past, oh I don't know, two weeks and last year when they came through with a new road they botched our driveway so the water doesn't drain anymore it just puddles up into a lake at the bottom of the driveway. Yes, a lake. We're talking almost 8 feet wide by 4 feet high and 4 inches deep. I'm thinking of taking the pool out and praying for rain all summer. Anyways...last night we had to go out to pick Dan and Darcie up from their weekly visitation with their asshole (please forgive me...it's just one of my many pet names for him) father. Bran had pulled in the driveway yesterday afternoon and blocked the van in so he had to pull the car out onto the street so we could go get them. I had just gotten into the van and was getting ready to start it when I see Bran come running around the corner into the drive and then stop. Just like that. I mean he was hauling ass and then nothing. He slowly turned around and started hopping. What in the world was he doing? I turned the headlights on so I could see. Yup. He lost his sneaker. In the lake. We turned the heat on full blast and pointed it at his feet. He was still soggy when we got home. Which reminds me...didn't the Morton girl have rubber boots for jumping puddles??? I'll bet she wasn't soggy.

Wanna know who's in the running for the drawing so far? I drew Lisa D. for Monday and Michelle for yesterday. I've sent you both emails so if you got one you're in the running. Congrats!

Today is sunny and cool and wet...but not raining. It's beautiful! The leaves are changing are so pretty right now. I've got to take Darcie out after school so she can try to sell some candy for their class trip to Albany so I'll try to remember to take the camera and get some pictures. I think it's sad that we sometimes take the beauty of our area for granted. It's a shame to not stop and enjoy it.

Holy Cow

That's it. That's all I can say. Holy cow. I can't believe how many of you took the time to stop by yesterday. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate you. Thank you for taking time out to stop by and visit. And thanks for all the great compliments on the hat. I wish I had gotten a better picture of it for you. If anyone else makes one and wants to share the photo just let me know. I'd be honored to put it in my album. And thanks for the suggestions on the clogs. Diane decided to felt them to the length suggested on the Brannock site. I think she'll be ok with that. If they're are a little snug they'll stretch to fit and if they're a little loose she can throw them back in the washer for a little longer. I still think it would be really cool to see someone's face if they got them before they were felted. Especially the ones Diane made for herself. She knits really loose so her women's large looked like my men's large. It was about 2 feet long. I swear. But after 2 hours in the washer in hot water they felted up nicely to a size 8.5. She was pretty happy with them.

Diane decided on Sunday that she needed some more yarn to start another pair of clogs. So we took a trip to Adirondack Yarns. Amazingly enough, I didn't buy anything. I've been trying really hard to be disciplined and get my Christmas shopping done. I did however contribute to a nice dent in Diane's wallet. :-) She bought enough Lamb's Pride for a pair of clogs for her sister in law and enough novelty for 2 scarves for her mother. Who doesn't want clogs. What??? Doesn't want clogs? Diane said she thinks it's because she told her how long it took her to make her first one. About 11 hours. I guess in the grand scheme of things that's really not bad time. She's a new knitter with only a couple scarves under her belt thus far. I think she did a great job. I'm so proud of her! Oh, and while I'm on the subject of clogs and Adirondack Yarns, I will be teaching a class this Saturday the 22nd from 10am to noon. We'll do the smallest child size from start to finish. If anyone is going to be in the area and wants to join you can call Sue at 518-523-9230 to sign up. It's only $15 for the class plus materials and you get a 10% discount off the yarn you purchase to make them.

Ok, before I get off here and go do some laundry I'll leave you with this. How cool is this? I whipped it up last night from some left over Lamb's Pride worsted. Wanna know how I made it? Brace yourselves...it's very scientific:

16" size 8 circular
36" size 10 circular or double points

Hat is worked holding 2 strands (one strand of one color and one strand of another) of worsted yarn together throughout. (I used Lamb's Pride)

Color A - black
Color B - blue
Color C - red
Color D - green
Color E - brown

With one strand of A and one strand of B
Cast on 80 stitches on size 8 needle.
Work K2, P2 ribbing for 10 rounds.

Change to size 10 needles and work in stockinette:

6 rounds of B and C
9 rounds of C and D
4 rounds of D and E
8 rounds of E and B
7 rounds of B and D

Decrease Rounds:

With D and A work K2tog all the way around each round for 2 rounds, ending with 20 stitches.

Leave a long tail of yarn and weave it through the 20 stitches. Draw up tightly and work all ends in.

I know it looks funky when you decrease that quickly but it does fit well.

Now, wanna know how I so scientifically came up with the change of colors for the rounds? I had each of the kids and Bran choose a number between 1 and ten. I added my choice somewhere in the midst of it and it worked out great. The hat will go to my dad at lunch time to keep his poor old, bald head warm this winter. I hope he likes the colors. If not Brandon already volunteered to take it off his head. I mean hands.

Let's Get This Party Started Right Now

Today officially starts the new contest! Just stop by and leave a comment and you're automatically entered. It doesn't matter where you leave your comment because it's sent to my inbox and dated. I'll draw one name each day through the end of the month just like I did last month. Tell your friends! Tell everyone! The more who play the more fun we'll have! And don't forget, every day that you leave a note gets you an entry.

Secret Pal Goodies

I received a wonderful package from my Secret Pal yesterday. In the box was 3 skeins of Silk Twist from www.knitpicks.com in yellow, green and blue variegated, some delicious Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice coffee, chocolate covered pretzels, a pumpkin spice candle, some cute knitter's note cards, sheep sticky notes and a card. How awesome is that? My friend came over again yesterday to finish her clogs and Brandon made us a pot of the coffee. It was incredible! I really wasn't sure that I would like it as I'm not normally crazy about spiced drinks but this stuff was great. Diane and I drank the entire pot. Dailaesse helped us munch on the chocolate covered pretzels too. They're one of our favorite treats around here. A huge thank you to my Secret Pal!!! I really appreciate your time and thought!

In other knitting related news, I finished the hat I was asked to make for Polly. She's a really sweet woman. I called her yesterday to let her know it was done and she came and picked it up today. She seemed quite pleased with it. I hope she wasn't just being polite. If anyone is interested I wrote the pattern up as I went along. The original hat shows the pattern much better than the horrible photo I took of the one I made.

Polly Wolly Doodle Hat

Worsted weight yarn (I used Lamb's Pride)
16" size 7 circular needle
47" size 7 circular needle or size 7 dpns

CO 90 stitches on the 16" circular, place marker and join in the round being careful not to twist.

Work 6 rounds of K1 P1 rib.

Begin pattern repeat:

Row 1: *Slip 2 stitches onto cable needle and hold at back of work, K1 from circular needle, K2 stitches off cable needle, P2 stiches from circular needle. Repeat from * around to marker.
Rows 2-4: *K3, P2. Repeat from * around to marker.

Work pattern repeat 10 times then work one round of Row 1 to end.

Change to 47" circular needle for Magic Loop method or dpns.

K89, m1, K1. (91 stitches total on needle)

*K5, K2tog. Repeat from * around to marker.
Knit one round.
*K4, K2tog. Repeat from * around to marker.
Knit one round.
*K3, K2tog. Repeat from * around to marker.
Knit one round.
*K2, K2tog. Repeat from * around to marker.
Knit one round.
*K1, K2tog. Repeat from * around to marker.
Knit one round.
*K2tog. Repeat from * around to marker.

Cut yarn leaving 12" tail. Weave tail through remaining stitches and pull tight to close. Work end in on wrong side and you're done.

You'll have to excuse my lack of pattern writing skills. This is the first one I've written down to share.

Hope everyone's having a great weekend!

Advice Needed

I told you a couple days ago that my friend had started her first pair of felted clogs. She's having so much fun with them that she now wants make them for her family for Christmas. Her question to me yesterday was whether she should felt them before giving them as gifts or felt them after. I've always thought the idea of doing it after was really neat. I can just imagine the looks on the faces of the recipients when they see these HUGE clogs. And, I find the felting process absolutely fascinating. Plus it's fun. I'd love to do this with my own family but I knit so many of the damn things that they've all seen them at some stage or another and there would be no shock factor. Maybe I'm wanting to live vicariously through Diane. Maybe that's why I think it would be fun for her to felt them after she gives them to her family. But on the other hand, I also have a hard time with the idea of giving a gift that isn't finished. Would you prefer to gift them finished or unfinished? How would you prefer to receive them if you were the gift getter? Getter. LOL Is that even a word?

We had to run to the dollar store last night for paper towels. On the way to the checkout Dailaesse spotted some plastic high heel dress up shoes for little girls. She got excited. "Oh Mama. Just look at these. Wouldn't I be precious in these? Pretty please can I have them?" In the cart they went. Then we stopped at McDonald's on the way home to grab something quick for dinner. We got home and Dailaesse insisted that she needed to put her pretty new pink shoes with the butterflies on them on her feet right away. I told her she needed to eat her dinner first. I knew right where this was headed. She begged and screamed. I opened the shoes. She promised to eat. Right. She slipped the shoes on and pranced across the living room. "Look Mama! I am so beautiful in these new tip toe shoes!" Tip toe shoes??? I couldn't stop laughing. She's too cute. By the way, she finally ate her chicken after she danced for about half an hour. Yum. Cold McDonald's.

Easy Does It

Sometimes it feels good to complain. Other times it only makes the situation worse. For example, yesterday was nuts. I had 101 things to do. Dailaesse had dance, Dan had a football game, Darcie needed to be picked up from school, my friend needed help with her clog...and on and on. So I decided while I was out running errands yesterday that I'd stop and pick Bran up for lunch. He was very happy. We went to Burger King. Remember, they have frozen Coke. Anyways, we sat at the drive thru for 20 minutes. Can you believe that??? If it hadn't been for the 5 minute ride back out to Bran's work he wouldn't have been able to eat any of his lunch. One of the ladies that works there has a really bad attitude so I didn't even bother saying anything to her. I've tried before when things have gone wrong. But guess what? She really doesn't give a tiny rats ass if you are happy or not. So, I called the long distance number posted in the window for complaints. I believe this number is for the idiot that manages the Burger Kings in the area. Guess what? He really doesn't give a tiny rats ass either. How do I know this? Because every time I've called (maybe a half dozen times over the past few years) I get an answering machine and never receive a return phone call. See how this can sometimes make the situation worse? I can't get no satisfaction.

By the time I got to Verizon after the football game last night I was in rare form. I went in to return the 4th phone I've had with them in 10 months. We've had nothing but trouble with these phones that they sold us. They won't hold a charge. And that's providing that you can get the stupid things to charge in the first place. You have to plug the phone in and then wiggle it around and move it back and forth and up and down until it starts charging. Then you have to back away from the counter very slowly while holding your breath and pray that it doesn't move. I think if someone in Egypt pharts it screws with the phone's charging capabilities. Then every once in a while when nobody pharts or breathes the phone lulls you into a false sense of security by telling you that it's charged. When you unplug it from the charger and make a call it quickly beeps at you and flashes its low battery message. Very manipulative. Teasing little hussy. I was ready to fight with the friendly (not) people at Verizon Wireless. I marched in and told them they HAD to do something about the phone. I told them the problem. They told me I had to speak to their service department. I again told my problem to the service department...his name was Gary. Why do they call it a department when it's one person anyways? So Gary told me that the phone was charging for the moment on his charger. I told him that although that was part of my complaint that the phone had other problems as well. He told me he thought it needed a new battery. Something they've been telling me since the phone was 2 weeks old but haven't replaced. He told me he'd see if they had any batteries and if they did he would replace it free of charge. No batteries. Gary says I'll have to come back tomorrow to see his manager so they can order one at no charge. I smiled and pointed out to Gary that I live an hour (one way) away and that unless he'd like to pay for my gas that I won't be returning tomorrow. Gary disappeared into another room in the back of the store. When he returned he was smiling and said he had good news. That's right, an entirely new phone. I never expected that to happen. It's suppose to be equivalent to the one I had but it seems a lot nicer. The only thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't vibrate. I like that feature. I feel it's rude to be talking to someone and have the phone start ringing. Again, a me thing. I'll have to call today and see if it has the feature and maybe I'm just missing it.

This morning Dailaesse and I made our almost daily trek to Dunkin' Donuts. We pulled up to the speaker and ordered. The person behind the speaker kept asking me to repeat myself. She finally screamed, "I can't hear her!!!" into the speaker. I pulled around to the window. A woman opened the window and told me how much my order was. Before handing her my money I let her know that although they might not be able to hear their customers that the customers could hear them loud and clear. Seriously. When they speak it's magnified 1000 times. She smiled, took my money and told me it wasn't her fault that the girl who took the order was having trouble with the headset. She gave me my change, closed the window and I'm assuming relayed what I had said to the girl with the headset. Now I have to tell you that I know of the girl with the headset. She went to school with me. She hung with a tough and nasty crowd of people who did nothing but fight, drink and use drugs. She was Miss Bad Ass in school and her attitude some 15 years later hasn't changed. Sad to see an adult that nasty. Anyways, the girl with the headset gave me a dirty look and then mouthed "fuck her". What????? When the drinks were passed through the window I asked to speak to the manager. Guess what? You got it, no satisfaction. The manager never apologized. Just tried to make me understand that it wasn't her fault that the equipment they have is faulty. I pointed out to her that the faulty headset didn't tell me to fuck off. I guess I'll start going to McDonalds for coffee in the morning.

Now, wanna hear some good exciting news??? I've decided to have another contest. We'll start on the 17th (Monday) and go until the 31st (Monday). We'll do pretty much the same thing we did last time except that I already have a good idea of what I'll be sending for a prize. Anyone who wants a chance to enter just needs to stop by and leave a comment. I'll draw a name each day and at then draw one final winner on November 1st. Leslie's prize is almost ready to go. I'm waiting for one more item that I ordered to arrive before I pack the box up and send it off. I can't wait until I can get it out to her. I think she's going to be thrilled!

Get Over It

We had the best knitting weather this weekend! It was cool and rainy and gave me the perfect excuse to sit inside and knit. I made a pair of clogs and got the hat finished...once. I just ripped the entire damn thing back out again. If anything I'm at least getting quite proficient in the hat pattern. I can whip it up in no time at all. It's going to be great when I get it finished. I promise. My friend Diane came over Saturday and then again today as she's working on her first pair of clogs. She was able to complete the first of the pair tonight. She's doing a really great job. She's really excited about getting them felted. She wants to make them for her family for Christmas this year. What a great gift don't you think? I'll have to get some pictures of mine and hers up soon for you all to see.

So on Friday Dailaesee and I had a little discussion. It went like this:

Me: Dailaesse please get out of the movie cabinet.
Dailaesse: No.
Me: I said please get out of there. You've already broken one DVD. We don't need anymore broken.
Dailaesse: It wasn't my fault it broke.
Me: Yes, it was. You broke Dan's Ernest movie. Please get out of the cabinet.
Dailaesse: So what I broke it. It's my fault. Get over it.
Me: Get over it???
Dailaesse: That's what I said. I ruined it. Get over it.

I told the story when Bran got home at lunch. He tried to reason with her. I heard her tell him to get over it too. Reasoning with a 2 year old is a losing battle.

Dailaesse wanted steak, noodles and carrots for dinner Friday night. I took out steak, got the noodles out and made sure I had carrots in the fridge (or fridgalator if you're 2). At about 5pm Dailaesse asked to go visit her Papa. Then she asked to spend the night. I told her she could go see them after dinner. She screamed. I called my dad. No answer. She screamed louder. I called 10 minutes later. No answer. She screamed even louder. I told her he was probably in the shower and that I was sure he would call as soon as he was out. That didn't work. It's the reasoning thing again. So I finally couldn't take the screaming anymore and got her dressed for the walk across the yard. Sure enough, he was in the shower. I hollered up the stairs to let him know we were there and let her loose. Soon after my mother arrived home. Dailaesse asked if she could have dinner and spend the night. I reminded her of the steak we had out at home. No go. She wanted to know what my parents were having. Hot dogs. Mmmm. That sounds good. That sounds good??? Let's see, Oscar Meyer vs. filet mignon. The kid kills me. So she decided to stay and have dinner. They opted for LaChoy Beef Chow Mein. Out of a can. She ate her entire dinner. She called us over for cupcakes after dinner. I told my mother the "get over it" story. She asked Dailaesse why she was being so fresh. Dailaesse looked her striaght in the eye and told her she never said such a thing and that I was a fibber. My mother confirmed the story with Bran. She asked Dailaesse again why she was being so fresh. Wanna know Dailaesse's response???

GET OVER IT!

Gotta love that kid!