Monday, January 30, 2006

2 B 3

I can't believe I haven't posted since Thursday. It's certainly not because I'm lacking material to post. Believe me. It's just that it's been busy. Like usual.

Friday after Bran got done work we went to Plattsburgh. We went to Butcher Block. Remember the famous Blutcher Block incident of '05? (That's what I've decided to call it.) It went off without a hitch. Dailaesse pointed out to us on the way out that she hadn't screamed at all. I told her I was very proud of her. Of course we had also chatted before we even left the house and I told her if she planned to be a stinker I wouldn't think twice about leaving her with her Nana and Papa. She really wanted to come with me. We left there and ran to the mall quick. I had to exchange a pair of jeans for Darcie. I did that and we did a little shopping as well. When I got to the counter to pay for the clothes Dailaesse and Bran had picked out I noticed that I had wrote a total in the checkbook for Charcoal Pit. Charcoal Pit? When did we go there? We haven't been there in quite some time now. Hmmm. OMG!!! I told Bran we had to go back to Butcher Block. He asked why. I showed him the checkbook. I wrote the check out to the wrong restaurant. We went back and i asked for my check back. You should have seen the manager when I asked for it back. When I explained what happened he laughed and thanked me for coming back.

As soon as we got into Walmart Dailaesse started screaming. She knew we were there to shop for her birthday. She wanted a new bike. We told her we weren't buying a new bike right now because she still had a great bike that she had gotten last year for her birthday. That didn't matter to her. She said that one was old and she didn't want it anymore. We tried to distract her but the longer we tried the louder she got. We finally took her to the bike aisle. We explained that she could look but that we weren't buying. She seemed OK with that. She peddled around on the different bikes for about 30 minutes. Up and down the aisle. Singing the bicycle song. You now the one right? I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride my bike. I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride it where I like. Or something like that. She squeezed tires, rang bells and fluffed the pretty pompoms on the handle bars. She was doing great. Then we told her we had to get going to get groceries at the other end of the store. By then she had settled on a bike I can only assume she was calling her own. I should have realized this when she didn't argue about going to get groceries. She started peddling down the mail aisle towards the other end of the store. Bran asked where she thought she was going. Why, to get groceries at the other end of the store of course. Bran told her she couldn't ride the bike through the store. She got off and started back over to us. I couldn't believe she was being so good about giving up the bike she so obviously loved. And then..."OK Daddy. You can push it then." I should have seen it coming. All hell broke loose at that point. But we did manage to distract her, get groceries and even a birthday present for her without her seeing it.

Yesterday my youngest baby girl turned 3. It still seems like it was just yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital. How is it that time gets away from you like that? My heart fills with more love for her as each day passes. She continues to amaze me with all the new things she's learning and doing. I'm one proud Mama. Happy third birthday Dailaesse Elizabeth! I've so enjoyed the past 3 years and I'm looking forward to the many years to come.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Busy Beaver

Would anyone be interested in doing a small spin off version of Secret Pal? Maybe something that lasts a month and only requires a $10 minimum gift? Let me know what you think!

I've been running like a chicken with my head cut off lately. Yesterday I had a ton of things I wanted to do but ended up with a ton of things I had to do. Like taking my mothers glasses to the eye doctor to have the lens put back in and secured with a new screw that popped out causing the lens to fall out in the first place. My mother called around 8am and asked if we had any old glasses in the house that she could take a screw out of. She's blind as a bat without them. I found a pair of Dan's old glasses and was ready to run them over to her when she called and said she had found a pair of her old glasses. Great. Nope. Wrong size. So I took her glasses with me when I left to bring the girls to school. I ran them back to her so she could finish getting ready for work.

Then I took Dailaesse out to get a donut. Thank God they had pink ones with sprinkles. I always warn her before we head to Dunkin' Donuts that they may not have what she wants. 90% of the time they don't. I hate for her to be disappointed. She told me she wasn't in the mood to mess around with the people at Dunkin' Donuts and that they had better have made her some pink donuts with sprinkles. So we got her two donuts and a cappuccino and made our way across town to drop the cappuccino off to Bran. We left him and were almost home when the phone rang. It was my mother. She needed milk now. For her breakfast. That she was eating at work. Because she wasn't able to eat at home without her glasses. Apparently not being able to see well affects your ability to eat too. I thought when one sense was weak the other senses overcompensated to make up for the loss of that one sense. Not in my mothers case. So we went to the gas station and grabbed a quart of milk. I felt bad because she said she was starting to get shaky because she hadn't eaten yet. I bought her a cappuccino too. We made it home by 10am and Dailaesse sat down to enjoy her donut. "Crap. Dixie don't eat my donut!," she screams. Her donut jumped off her plate and slammed itself onto the floor. And you were wondering why I would buy a teeny, tiny almost 3 year old girl 2 donuts weren't you?

The rest of the morning and early afternoon were a blur. Before I knew it the clock read 1:30 pm and it was time to take Dailaesse to dance class. She was very excited. She took her boots off and put her dance shoes on as soon as we arrived. She marched right into the studio and started running around with all the other little girls. She was having a blast. Then Melissa came in. She didn't stop running. As a matter of fact, she ran all the way out of the studio and across the gym to me on the bench. She wasn't going to stay. I felt another MasterCard moment coming on.

Dance Lessons - $43
Dance Clothes - $57
Mama's Girl - Priceless

So I did the only thing I could. I asked Melissa if I could in the studio for the first class. Dailaesse decided that was a great solution. Now remember, Dailaesse is still the youngest little dancer in the class. Remember? I kept reminding myself. I also kept my hand over my mouth. I didn't want any of the little dancers to think I thought they were silly. But OMG!!! They are so cute. Especially my Dailaesse. She's the cutest. She's also dancing to the beat of a different drummer. While all the other dancers were lined up on their snowman stickers on the floor, Dailaesse was bouncing and shaking out her arms and just having a grand old time. I decided 3 things while sitting there for 45 minutes.

1. Melissa has A LOT of patience.
2. I need to chat with Dailaesse about her listening skills.
3. Melissa is charging WAY too little for this class.

Dailaesse and I chatted after dance class and she promised to do a better job at listening to Melissa. I also told her I wouldn't be able to stay in the studio with her next week. She said that was OK. I'll let you know next Wednesday if it's OK or not.

Oh, and just to update you on the Dora bed...it's going wonderfully. She's slept in her big girl Dora bed every night except for 2 since Christmas. The 2 nights she didn't sleep in it were nights that I fell asleep and didn't get up to put her in it. We have a great routine that works for both of us. She gets in our bed to have her booby (yes, she's still nursing) and after she falls asleep (we say she's asleep at the boob) I put her in her bed. Sometimes she wakes up and sometimes she doesn't but even when she does she just smiles, snuggles up in her blankies and goes back to sleep. Life is good!

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Scarf Exchange Update

I've heard from several of you who participated in the scarf exchange and I'm so glad to hear everyone is having such a great time. If you haven't checked in with me in the past week could you please drop me a note to let me know how it's coming? If you send me your blog address or a picture I'll be very happy to post a link here so everyone can see the wonderful scarves you've knit and received.

So that's it for now. It's after 1am and I'm sleepy. Good night!

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Cash and Kerry

Yesterday it rained. Cats and dogs. Trust me. The drops were that big. Of course yesterday was the day that I needed to run errands. All morning. In the rain. With the baby. And the ice. It was lovely. At 1:30 in the afternoon we made it to the last store on our list. We gathered up all our things and headed to the checkout. I commented to Dailaesse that I was out of cash. Dailaesse looked up at me with her big blue innocent eyes and said, "It's OK if you don't have any cash Mama. We don't have to pay today. If you don't have cash then it's free." The customer ahead of us started laughing. Hard. So didn't the dude behind the counter. The man in line in front of said he loved her way of simplifying things. Oh to be a toddler again. I once again took the opportunity to explain to Dailaesse that you never take something from any store without paying for it. I set her up on the counter and let her help me write a check which she handed to the dude behind the counter.

And in case you're wondering, by the time we came out of the store the rain had finally turned to snow. After we were both soaked.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

ESP

When Dailaesse and I got ready to go get the boys from school this afternoon we found a box on the front porch. I looked at it quickly and set it on the couch. All the way to school and back I was trying to think of what in the world I had ordered from Adagio Teas. I called Bran and asked if he had ordered something. Nope. I thought maybe when I was looking online the other night I had actually placed an order. I was pretty sure I hadn't. And that was Gevalia. Not Adagio. I think. Right? Where in the world did this package come from? My Secret Pal!!! That's where it came from! Secret Pal...you seriously ROCK!!! You must have ESP. I never even mentioned in my questionnaire that I like tea. Or how I put a personal teapot in my shopping cart at Gevalia the other night because I'm ready to be grown up and brew tea leaves instead of the little Tetley tea bags. I never placed the order because I was having a hard time justifying spending so much on something for myself. See how that works? The yarn, needles and patterns need no justification because they normally become things for other people. See? I don't buy yarn for me. I but it for others. How do you like that justification? Thank you, thank you, thank you Secret Pal! I feel like a spoiled princess. You've taken such good care of me. The bouquet, emails, tea and a great wish for a warm tummy! :-) Did I say thank you?

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Husband for Sale...Cheap

I have to tell you that I couldn't have gotten any luckier this round of Secret Pal if I had tried. My wonderful pal sent me the neatest virtual bouquet yesterday. Just because. How awesome is that? Thank you so much secret pal! You rock! I love the smiley faces. I think they're the reason my husband is still breathing. :-)

Anyone want another husband? I'd be happy to sell mine today. Actually, I'd gladly give him away. When we got the new computer my husband appointed himself "King of Backup" and set out moving things from the old computer to the new one. Since he's the master of networking he also took on hooking the 3 machines together to share the internet. Now, instead of downloading things on the new machine he's been doing it on our old one which is now in Dan's room. He started having trouble yesterday and had to disconnect the anti-virus program on our old machine. Of course as soon as he did this we picked up a virus. How did I find this out you ask? Sue sent me an email asking if I had meant to send her some nonsense about eBay. Of course I hadn't. I knew right then that we had a virus. I was confused because I thought the new anti-virus was working really well. That was when Bran told me what he had done and that he still had my address book and Money on the old machine. Normally I wouldn't panic like I did today but since I finally got Microsoft Money set back up again it was a big deal. I was mortified to think that some freak online might have our account information. So I ran upstairs to delete my address book and Money. I couldn't do anything with the computer. When I turned it on it started screaming at me that it had a virus and that it was infected. No shit Sherlock. Bran was able to get it to boot finally and I deleted all my stuff. Bran told me to go ahead and delete everything on the desktop of the old machine because it had all been transferred. So I did. A little while later I was downstairs and for some reason decided to look for a pattern in my folder. Guess what? My folder is gone. Where did it go? I deleted it when my husband told me to. Why? Because I'm an idiot who hasn't learned that I need to not listen to a word my husband says. His folders are all cleaned up and nicely organized on the new machine so what in the world made me think that he would have actually done the same for me??? Any takers???

I taught a magic loop sock class yesterday that was great fun. I only had two people sign up but it was still great. They were a mother/daughter duo and they were just lovely. The daughter is probably in her late teens and knits continental. She knits as fast as I do. I thinking if I could learn to knit continental too I could really heat up the old needles. Think of all the time it would save if I could pick instead of throwing. I have to put this on my list of things to try this year. I'll attempt this as soon as I master a damn cast on for a toe up sock using magic loop.

Friday, January 13, 2006

Attitude with a Capital "A"

My secret pal who will be spoiling me left me a comment already!!! Hi Secret Pal!!! I'm so psyched for this exchange to get underway. Even though the whole matching experience really kicked my arse I'm still so glad I volunteered to hostess this time around. It's been incredible. Unless something horrendous happens I plan to hostess again next time too. I hope everyone playing along has a great time!

Today was beautiful. In the 60's. Honest. Friday the 13th of January and it's 60 freakin' degrees outside. Nothing horrible about that. Dailaesse and I took a walk down the street to the lake today. She wanted to know where the ducks were. I told her they had gone south for the winter. "Oh, you mean to Florida?" How does she know that? She must have heard it on the news.

Before we left for our walk she insisted I paint her nails. I told her I needed to finish switching the laundry. She insisted louder. I promised her if she'd just be patient for a couple minutes that I would love to do nothing more than to paint her nails. She told me she was tired of my attitude. Huh? I told her I didn't have one. She corrected me and told me she wasn't going to put up with my attitude anymore and so I better stop giving her one. I argued again. You'd think I'd know better by now. Arguing with a toddler is a complete waste of time. I apologized for said attitude and painted her nails. She was happy.

We went to my parents for dinner tonight. Dailaesse was in her high chair eating her chicken and visiting with us all. She told my mother she was done and that she was ready for her tubby. My mother told her she needed to wait for her to finish her dinner. Dailaesse didn't like that answer. She asked my father. He told her he didn't do tubbies. She told him she was tired of his attitude. He started to argue. I told him not to bother. As he was taking Dailaesse out of her high chair he told her she had an awfully big attitude for such a little girl. I said I was hoping she would grow into it soon. Dailaesse told us both not to hold our hands on our asses because they might take root. There's another one of my favorite sayings I can't use anymore.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Secret Pal 7 Questionnaire

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand?
I never use to be but I have to admit that I have become quite a snob over the past several years. I like acrylic for afghans that will be gifted or donated and for stuff that needs to be washed a lot like baby stuff. I love working with natural fibers though and have much more of them in my stash than acrylics.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
I don't spin but look forward to learning some day when I have more room to store more stash...and a wheel. :-) I do crochet but don't do as much of it since I learned to knit.

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have one needle case for my Addi Turbos that is bulging at the seams. I also have a fabric roll for my straights, a fishing lure box for my dpns and the rest of my circulars are in a 3 ring binder in plastic sheet protectors. Sophisticated, no?

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
About 15 years and I'd say I'm somewhat advanced.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I don't. I should start one but chances are I probably won't.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
Cinnamon, vanilla and anything fruity. Floral scents give me a huge headache.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Doesn't everyone? I love anything sweet. Too bad my hips don't too. Chocolate covered pretzels and Reese's Peanut Butter trees, eggs and pumpkins are my favorites.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
I like cross stitch but don't find time for it like I use to. I'd much rather be knitting.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I love country and yes, I can play MP3s.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
I like all colors but blue is my favorite.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I've been married to my amazing husband for 5 years and we have 3 wonderful children. A 14 year old son and 2 daughters, ages 10 and almost 3. We have a cat and a Shih-Tzu who are both a year old.

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
None of the above. :-)

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
Opal, Fleece Artist merino sock, Bearfoot, Koigu...noticing a theme here? LOL

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Anything scratchy.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
Socks and scarves.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Socks.

17. What are you knitting right now?
Socks, a shrug, 2 sweaters and a scarf.

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
I would be absolutely honored to receive something that someone took the time to make just for me.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
Circulars. More specifically Addi Turbos.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Nickel plated brass. :-)

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Both. My hubby bought them for me after helping to wind one hank of wool.

22. How did you learn to knit?
I bought a video called "Keeping You In Stitches."

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
So old that I don't even remember. Actually, it's about 6 years old.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
I really don't have one.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
Halloween.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
Yarn, patterns, needles, stitch markers.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
None now. I had IK but I haven't been all that impressed with the patterns lately. I decided to cancel my subscription and buy them if I really like them.

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?
50 Baby Bootees to Knit

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I want to try a moebius.

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Am I ever! My foot is 9.25" long. My ankles are 9" and my calves are 11". I like short cuffs...no more than 5-6".

31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
April 16th.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Penguin Plunge

I want to thank you all for your positive thoughts and words of encouragement concerning our upcoming court battle. You all mean more to me than you will ever know. I'm a lucky girl. :-)

Have you all heard of these groups that get together during the coldest month of the year to take a dip in the lake? They have to break the ice and remove it from the lake to allow the members access to the freezing water. They're advertising for the Penguin Plunge over in Vermont right on TV. The Penguin Plunge. I believe the name of the group here that performs this ridiculous ritual call themselves the Polar Bears. Arctic Assholes is what they should call them. People have heart attacks and drop dead doing this from the severe shock of the water temperature. And I'd bet that each year some idiot ends up at the emergency room having his nuts removed from his throat. You know it's gotta happen. They just don't report it on TV. At least the Penguins get sponsors and raise money for charity. Probably the heart association. This way they can pay for the next ass that has a heart attack.

Sunday, January 08, 2006

In the Cabbage Patch

Dailaesse and I spent the day in Plattsburgh on Friday. We went to meet a new lawyer to talk about ending visitation for Dan and Darcie with their father. I like the new lawyer. A lot. He's very pulled together, very confident and was very encouraging. He's also honest. You can't beat that. He feels we have a great chance of having the judge end visitations. Let's hope so. It's all the kids have wanted for years now. I finally feel as though we've found someone who will work with them to help them. Positive thoughts please. :-)

So on the way to the lawyers office we passed the hospital. I told Dailaesse to look out her window. I pointed out the hospital and told her that was where she was born. She didn't seem to be too interested. When we finished with our meeting I called my Aunt Noreen who lives about 20 minutes outside of Plattsburgh and asked if she wanted to meet us in town for lunch. We had lunch and then went to do a little shopping. Later in the afternoon we were sitting in the mall snacking on an Auntie Anne's pretzel when Dailaesse got all excited and started dancing in her chair. "Aunt Noween, Aunt Noween!!! I was born right down the street. Right there down the street!" She's jumping and pointing down the mall corridor. "You were?," asks Aunt Noreen. "Yes, right down there on the side of the street!" You should have heard the people around us laugh.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Dude...We Got a Dell!

Our Christmas present from my wonderful father in law arrived today. A brandy-dandy new Dell computer. We picked it out and ordered it so it's just the way we (Bran) wanted it. I moved things around the house all afternoon. Our old tower to Dan's room, our old speakers and monitor to Darcie's room, Dan's old tower to Darcie's room...PHEW!!! We gave Darcie the new wireless keyboard and mouse that came with the new system since her desk is much smaller than Dan's. Of course Dan wants something new for his room now other than our old tower. I think once we get everything finished and he can make the computer his he'll be very happy. Of course I'm now contemplating a new keyboard and mouse for him. Darcie's monitor is a nice flat screen that we had here in the living room so that coupled with her new keyboard and mouse seemed like a pretty big deal to Dan. I also think I'd like to get a new printer for us. Hmmm...decisions, decisions.

So now I have to configure my email and set all of my favorites. I'm going to be a busy girl tonight and tomorrow. I have a ton of emails to return too. If only I had gotten to them this morning.

I started a new project for Sue a few days ago and I love how it's progressing. It's the Fiber Trends Evening Shrug and I'm working it in Cherry Tree Hill's Alpine Lace. I have to say that at first I wasn't loving the yarn but the more I worked with it the more I liked it. Now I really love it. It's so soft and I love the texture. I can't remember what the colorway is but it's beautiful. I'll share some pictures soon.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

All Play and No Posting

Makes for one hell of a boring blog. I know. I'm hanging my head in shame. Really.

My husband finally went back to work yesterday after being home for over a week. I have mixed feelings about this. I love my husband. I love him more than I ever imagined I could love any man. BUT. He's a lot of work. While Bran was home we lived a life of leisure. Seriously. Even Dailaesse slept in until 11 each morning. We did lots of shopping. Lots of wrapping. Lots of playing. We started a fort in the backyard with the kids. Then it rained. We haven't gotten enough snow yet to start building again. I'm looking forward to getting that finished. We did lots of eating. Just lots of everything. It was wonderful. BUT. I did very little housework. I did very little knitting. I did very little cooking. I did very little blogging. See a pattern here??? So while I miss my husband very much, I'm also glad to be back into my old routine.

So how was everyone's New Year??? Has anyone made any unique resolutions? I don't bother. It takes more than a New Year for me to decide to stick to something. After moving things around in my fiber room I've decided that I definitely need to buy more yarn. Now there's a resolution I can make and know that I won't feel like crap in a month because I broke it.

Any new projects for the New Year? I've got one. I'll share it with you tomorrow. For now, I'm off to get Dan from the gym. I'm so glad tobe back with you all again. Have a great night!

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