Seriously, WTF?!

Sick again & the garbage man

I’m f’g sick again.  Absolutely un-freaking-believable.  I am SO not happy about this.  I had one week of feeling great.  The cough started up again yesterday & this morning I woke up to that hideous ball of fire in my chest again.   Hit the store for some holiday cupcakes for the garbage guy & Nyquil for me.

Every year, I leave out a tin of homemade goodies with a tip for my garbage guy.  I’m telling you, this guy is utterly FANTASTIC.  Being the stereotypical absent minded geek that I am, I tend to forget to take the garbage to the street.  My garbage man actually runs up to the side of the house and picks up my garbage for me!  As if that wasn’t enough of a wonder…   Due to a mix up in billing, the company had closed my account back in May (I had paid my bill a couple days late, actually, I overpaid it – while they credited my account, they forgot to reactivate it).  He continued to pick up my garbage for another 5 months.  It was only when he stopped picking it up that I discovered there was a problem!

Anyway, this year I was just too sick to make him the tin of goodies, so it was store bought cupcakes instead.  I’m sure the tip is probably more appreciated than the homemade goodies, but I still feel bad.

Running & workouts

Ha.  Right.  Yeah, I’m not running nor working out.  *sob*  This is so damn frustrating!  But all for the best, we had a solid cold front come through & it’s colder than hell out there.  Well.  Ok, so it’s not cold to some of you, but it’s freezing to those of us that have lived in Florida for more than a year or so!  You’d never know I’m originally from Wisconsin, would ya?  Yeesh.

Knitting

So I finished the Boyfriend Hat pretty quickly!  It’s an awesome little pattern & now I see why so many have made it!  :)  I quickly cast on for another, deciding to make them for all the guys.   I’ll probably give this one to the youngest manlet or to my BIL.

I’ve got a brown/green one started for Dad.  I also have another soap sweater OTN to go into stockings.

Today’s Ravelry Search

Some selections from Today’s Ravelry Search:

Adorable socks, I love how this knitter worked the colors on the project. :)

ROFL - there is a cozy for EVERYTHING on Raverly!

ROFL - there is a cozy for EVERYTHING on Raverly!

Some crochet ornaments!

Some crochet ornaments...

I like the idea of making a heart on this dishcloth, cute!

I like the idea of making a heart on this dishcloth, cute.

)

Adorable hat, don't ya think? :)

That’s it for now, I’m heading back to bed with my Nyquil & my knitting.  TTFN

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It’s Yule!

Yule and the holiday party

For those that celebrate it, have a Blessed Yule!  We normally celebrate Yule with home baked goodies, gift opening, a light tour on our own around town, then setting up camp around the tree, leaving the lights of the tree on all night.  We haven’t a fireplace, so no Yule log for us, sad to say.  This year, though, the young manlets are at their father’s house, so our celebrations won’t happen until next weekend.

Last night was my coworker/friend’s annual holiday party.  I always have such a great time there because it is quite fun to watch people let their hair down.  I normally spend the evening hanging around my coworker’s best friend, who is just hilarious.  Every year in the past, he’s said something hysterically funny that just seems to set the tone for the whole party.  I tend to return home very sore because I’ve laughed so hard all night.  Mostly because of him, but I also have fun because I don’t drink.  It’s almost always entertaining to be the only sober person in a big party of folks getting ripped.  Sadly, my coworker’s friend moved out of state and there seems to have been a falling out between them, so he was not at the party.  I kind of felt like my right arm was missing for part of it, I hadn’t realized how much I enjoyed having him attach himself to me.  But there were a couple of other coworkers at the party who hadn’t been before and as the night wore on, we had more & more fun.  I still came home with sore abs from laughing, so it was great!  :D

Running & workouts

Blech, I was so bad yesterday!  I had found out that a sale on yarn was ending yesterday & I needed to get more…  so I went shopping first thing in the morning yesterday instead of going out for a run.  It turned into a near all day trip, as I was trying to find a top to wear to the party.  Add in a manicure/pedicure and a wee bit of gift shopping and I had no time to workout OR run!  *sigh*

Today the plan is to do a session of yoga this morning, then this evening, I’m going to have an easy run through the neighborhoods to check out everyone’s holiday lights!  That gives me all day to get my mp3 player working again & some new songs downloaded to it.

Probably it is a good thing I didn’t run yesterday, as my knees were twinging quite a bit last night.  I’ve got to take it slow & easy as well as definitely listen to my body.

Knitting/Crochet

I didn’t make any progress on projects yesterday, in terms of working on them.  I did, however, FINALLY snap shots of the various projects I have completed & got them updated in Ravelry!  I get annoyed with myself whenever I go to see my projects & there are a bunch that have no pictures.  Just a silly thing with me, I guess.  LOL

In yesterday’s travels, I found a package of mesh bags (at the dollar store – one dollar for 4 bags, w00t!).  Today I hope to get some laundry done & in the course of doing so, will be felting up the guys’ slippers.  I’m looking forward to see how they turn out in the felting process!  I’m not normally a big fan of felting, but I had the pattern & it really is a cute one.  Just perfect for them, I think.

Today I’ll be knitting on the Boyfriend Hat.  I’m planning that one for Dad.  I’m thinking I might make fingerless gloves for the young manlets, though hats might be ok with them, too.  Definitely socks for them, though.  They will definitely wear any socks I make for them, they actually seem to prefer the socks I make over store bought ones.  I just don’t know if I’m going to have time to finish everything!

Today’s Ravelry Search

Here are some shots from today’s Ravelry search:

Such a pretty table runner!

Such a pretty table runner!

LOVE the suns on this shawl & the colorwork is lovely

LOVE the suns on this shawl & the colorwork is lovely

This lovely pattern can be found on Etsy!

This lovely pattern can be found on Etsy!

CUTE stocking!

CUTE stocking!

What an adorable hat & the pattern is free on Ravelry!

What an adorable hat & the pattern is free on Ravelry!

Now, these would be a fun use for that glow in the dark yarn!

Now, these would be a fun use for that glow in the dark yarn!

This one of my favorite patterns for Yule.  I dont have time to get it done this year - I must buy the pattern for next year at some point!

This one of my favorite patterns for Yule. I don't have time to get it done this year - I must buy the pattern for next year at some point!

Balsam sachets - great use for leftover yarn & a nice little quick gift to make!

Balsam sachets - great use for leftover yarn & a nice little quick gift to make!

Happy Sunday & a Blessed Yule, everyone!

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w00t! Vacation, vacation, vacation

Work

Can ya tell that I seriously needed a vacation?!  :D  As Murphy’s Law seems to always be in effect, the past week at work was hellish, of course.  We had layoffs come through, so everyone was on edge BIG time, which resulted in some dramaz.  I’m not going into it, suffice to say that I’m just glad that I had an extra half day available to take off.  I began my vacation Thursday at lunch time rather than at the EOB Thursday, which I had wanted to do anyway.  I’m not a confrontational type of person, IRL dramaz make me very uncomfortable, so making myself scarce and heading out to vacation was how I handled it.

Knitting

So knitting night was wonderful, even though only one other person made it.  She’s the fellow crocheter of the group, so we have that in common.  We haven’t had much opportunity to get to know each other all that well, so this was a good time for it.  I had a wonderful time & we made plans to have another knit night next week.

She was very sweet, when I’d said that my kids were with their father for Yule, she invited me to spend time with her & her guy.  SO sweet!  I love it when I find someone that invites you to join their family for the holiday, in spite of maybe not knowing you all that well.   My neighbor did the same thing at Thanksgiving – actually, she sent her son over twice to collect me, to make sure that I ate with them since I was home by myself.  :)

I finished up a soap sweater, which is going into my son’s stocking.  Also finished up another crochet doily.  Now I’ve got a hat OTN.  Planned it for my father, but I’m thinking it might go to my youngest instead.  I’m not sure, will decide as I get more done.  I’m not too sure I’ll have Dad’s afghan done in time.  If I worked on it non-stop, I probably could, but that would mean no other gifts would get done.  I still have things to make for my boys, so it’ll have to wait.

Today’s Ravelry Search

I stopped spending time at Plurk.  It just seemed like I was wasting time there & I became quite bored with it, actually.  One of the things I liked to do there was plurk a daily Ravelry search.  It was always fun & I found some pretty cool stuff that way.  So I think I’m going to start with a “Today’s Ravelry Search” on my blog, since I miss it so much.  ;)

SO, without further ado, here are some of the patterns from Today’s Ravelry Search:

Cute crocheted ornaments!

Cute crocheted ornaments!

LOVE the collar, though my young manlets would NOT allow it for our crew!

Colorwork like this is always fantastic, I think.

Doncha just want to nom-nom-nom? :D

Crochet can be so versatile for afghans, truly.

I just LOVE this tea cozy! :)

)

These mittens are awesome! :)

BFFs, shopping, movie and tattoos

Yesterday I planned to spend the day knitting, but ended up with an even better day.  My IRL BFF called me right after I dropped my son to school & invited me to come spend a few hours with her shopping.  We ended up shopping for much of the day and wrapped it all up by seeing a movie.  I just LOVE days like that!  It was totally unplanned, yet we accomplished a few things.  Best of all, I got to spend a day with my IRL BFF.  :)

(Oh yeah – I have what I consider 2 best friends…  one that is here, my IRL BFF.  The other is halfway around the world – we’ve never met in person, but have been friends for years (wow, thinking on it, it’s been nearly 10 years!) online.  The past 2-3 years, we’ve become even closer & I’ve loved having her in my life, even as an OL BFF.  he he he)

She had to have her tires replaced, so we killed some time wandering at Sam’s Club (where she was having the tires done).  I found one of those restaurant sized cans of sliced black olives.  This sucker is HUGE.  Well.  I just *had* to buy it for my oldest for a Yule gift.  He is an olive fanatic.  Every time I go to the store, he’s shouting “get more olives”.  The last time I got back, he ate one whole can by itself.   He is going to LOVE this can.  :D

We also stopped at a tattoo parlor.  Our first visit to one, actually.  We’ve been talking about getting tattoos for ourselves for a gift to ourselves.  Neither of us found quite what we were looking for, so when we go back again, we’re gonna have to have them draw up what we have in mind.  In the meantime, I’m going to see what I can come up with on my own.  I know the elements I want mine to have as well as the size, so it shouldn’t be too hard.  :D

Saw ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’.  I didn’t think it was so bad, actually.  I’ve heard people grousing about it, but most seem to be Keanu Reeves haters already.  *shrug*  I’ve always liked him well enough, so I enjoyed it.  :)  I’d have totally loved it if our theatre had ‘Nobel Son’ – that’s what I would have gone to see for sure.  But, alas, very few places in the area are playing it.  *sigh*

Running & workouts

I ran 2 miles the other day.  It felt good, but pointed out how out of shape I am.  *sigh*  Next day was Tae Bo.  I was a wee bit sore, but not terribly so.  I was actually quite surprised that I wasn’t more sore.  I woke up really early this morning, so I’ll be hitting the streets again this morning soon.  I’m going to shoot for 4, I think.  If I can get my mp3 player working, anyway.

One of my online friends was talking about running at night to look at all the Christmas lights.  I feel like such an idiot – why has that never occured to me before???  ROFL!  I am so totally going to be doing that the next few days!!  I can’t tonight, because I have a party to go to.

New format

So because I have folks reading my blog from all walks of life – fellow runners, fellow knitters, friends & occasionally family, I decided I’d better format my blog in a way such that the runners don’t have to dig for the running stuff, etc.  In case the runners don’t care to read about knitting & vice-versa.  What do you all think?

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Just egg-xactly what were they thinking?

So someone posted a link to a news article over on Ravelry.  When I checked it out, naturally, it just HAD to be in my neck of the woods.  Well, close enough anyway – Tampa Bay is a pretty large area to cover.  :)

The story in itself is giggle-worthy, for certain.  What made it all the more entertaining to me were the comments left by readers.  I just cracked up (*groan*) over the Waffle House one, of course.

Some of the comments left were definitely questionable, along with one or two that had me shaking my head over some of the attitudes.  A surprising number of comments have been deleted ~ one can’t help but wonder just how awful THOSE must have been!

Anyway, here ya go ~ enjoy!

This morning I’m hitting the weights & the road.  Well, I should say I’m doing strength training today – probably not going to rely so much on weights today, but focusing on things like crunches, pushups, squats, etc.  Since I’m working my way back into regular workouts, should probably go a little easier.  Especially since I’m a bit twingy after yesterday’s Tae Bo session!  For the road portion, I’m planning to knock out just a couple miles to get 20 minutes of the heart moving.  :)

Tonight is knitting night with the group at Panera.  I’m finally feeling well enough that I can go without worrying about making everyone else sick.  LOL  I haven’t decided what to take yet, but I’m leaning towards working another crocheted doily.  I still have pillowcase edgings to work on, so I might bring that instead.  We’ll see!  :D

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A funny thing happened

So it’s been a little while since I’ve blogged, I know.  But holy cow, they’ve totally changed the place (the WordPress folks, that is) on me here!!  Man, this is like coming home from vacation to find that someone has replaced all your furniture with totally different stuff and put it all in different places, too.  LOL

Anyway, I’ve been heads down working on holiday gifts…  pretty much everyone is getting handmade stuff this year.  I’m really only buying a few items here & there for the kids, my boys and my nieces.  Every spare moment I’ve had has been either knitting or crocheting on a project – too many to have listed here!!  Besides, I don’t want to post everyone’s gifts, just in case the fam actually remembers my blog & reads it.  ROFL!

But…  here is a shot of the first doily I’ve ever knit!

Last night I took Leonardo out for a run after dinner.  It’s been a little while since I’ve run & I am horribly out of shape still.  Of course, it started raining about 3 minutes into it!!  Yeesh.   Since I’m still recovering from a nasty cold/bronchitis/laryngitis, I kept it short & sweet.  Just enough to work up a bit of a sweat & breath heavy anyway.  LOL

We ran down to visit with my young man-lets – they were volunteering with their grandfather at the Kiwanis Club’s tree lot.  Naturally, Dad had to give me hell for running in the rain while I’m sick.  *snerk*  But hey, I knew it was coming & I still stopped by to visit.  ;)

This morning, I knocked out a Tae Bo workout with some added pushups.  It’s time to reclaim my fitness!!  Logged into Spark People for the first time in almost a year today, too.  I am determined.  It’s been one of the most stressful years, way too much work and personal events to focus on MY health.  Time to get back to my usual self, though.

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Perfect weather for a run!

I’m back, showered & dressed already from an early morning run today.  I woke up early & checked in on my various sites.  Sat down to knit & read, but suddenly had a hankering for a run.  Since I’ve been a bad runner as well as a bad blogger, I decided to go without the watch and just focus on how I felt rather than shooting for speed or anything.  I vaguely recall seeing 6:15 on the clock, but I’m not sure if that was when I left or what…  needless to say, I was very pleased upon my return to see the clock read 7:03 when I walked in the door.

I got in 4 miles with a few blocks of walking scattered through the run.  It felt FANTASTIC and the weather was just perfect – I wore my running tights, a tank with a long sleeved cropped running top…  which turned out to be perfect.  As I ran the last few blocks, the sun was just high enough to glare into my eyes, but luckily it was only for a few blocks until I turned north to finish up the run.  Temps were not freezing, but not sweltering hot either – it was ‘just right’!  ;)

So I really *should* clean today, having badly neglected housecleaning for some time.  But I’m not going to, dammit!  LOL  I’m going to knit on a new shopping bag and read some more fan fiction on my iPaq instead.  he he he  Oh, and Plurk, hang out at Ravelry and play Ikariam while I’m at it.  Yeah, I’m the epitome of the multitasking geek, aren’t I?

Speaking of which…  I suppose there is hope for me in some areas, not so much hope in other areas…  someone in the Rubberneckers group on Ravelry posted this quiz, which was fun.   My results?  I’m a Modern Cool Nerd – 83 % Nerd, 83% Geek, 35% Dork.  Um, wow.  See what I get for answering all those questions honestly & admitting to such things as reading fan fiction and having recent comic book collections?  ROFL!!  But, hey – at least I’m NOT a Dork!!  *snicker*

Before I leave ya – here’s my funny shot for today:

This was actually from about a month ago or so.  I woke up one Saturday morning, came out into the living room to THIS sight!  Giggled hysterically over my youngest man-let sleeping with his feet up on the back of the couch so his dog can sleep with him.  :D

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Bad blogger, BAD!

Yes, I know…  I’ve been a very bad blogger!  Just so much stuff to stay on top of, something had to give.  LOL!  Work has been hell, pure hell.  I am so looking forward to vacation in December, I am definitely going to NEED the time to recuperate from this project!

So…  I’ve at least gotten quite a bit of knitting done.  Scarves for holiday gifts, more dishclothes for the kitchen, several Calorimetries for others.  I’m working on a gift for my Dad now, he asked for saddlebags for his Dane, Rocky.  He wants them for when they go to the open markets.  I’ve got everything all knit up, I just have to rethink the fasteners.  I originally used those buckles you have on overalls?  Yeah, they aren’t working out too well, at least not when I try putting it on Leonardo, anyway.  I’m thinking heavy duty velcro is going to be the solution.

Recently, have completed a matching scarf to the Sweeney Todd scarf – another gift!  This one is for my sister – she & her DH can be matching, but not.  LOL!  Same yarn as his scarf, but I used a pattern that was more lacy & made it wider so she can wear it as a scarf OR a wrap.  :)

On the design front…  I really haven’t had much time recently with all the gift making.  *sigh*  I hope to get some sock OTN soon, I want to get something going for my guys for gifts too.

I’m heading out the door for a very slow run…  trying to build back up from the ground floor is SO frustrating!!  But at least the weather is simply perfect for running, it’s finally cooled down.  YAY!  :D  I had wanted to do the Gulf Beaches Half Marathon in December, but I won’t be ready in time for it.  *sigh*  I fully intend to do that race at one point, it is fantastic!

For fun today, I give you this 5 minutes quiz:  How many colors can you name?

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Whew, the month from hell!

So yeah, I’ve been a very bad blogger, I know.  Between working an insane amount of hours for work on the latest project, my father’s heart attack & follow up surgery, something just had to give.  Unfortunately, the somethings that got set aside were running & blogging.

BUT ~ I’ve started back up with workouts again (YAY!!), starting off very easy.  Got 2 miles in a few days ago & now that the soreness is gone, will be running in the morning again.  I also started up weight training again, hitting the weights Friday morning.  Then followed up by painting all weekend long, so perhaps that wasn’t the best planning on my part…  LOL

Painted Dad’s house, then both the boys’ rooms today.  I decided to let them have at & do what they wanted with their own rooms…  with the agreement that when the time comes, they WILL be responsible for hitting their room with the Kilz when I’m ready to repaint.  LOL!  They are nearly all done, and I must say – their rooms look AWESOME!  :D  I’ll snap some shots & post them, I’m actually very pleased with how they turned out.

Finished up the scarf for my BIL – the Sweeney Todd scarf.  I just LOVED making this one, it is a wonderful pattern & perfect for some knitting & movie watching or book reading.  ;)  Next OTN is another shopping bag, and another scarf for a family member gift…  but I’m getting the urge to knit some more socks, darnit!  :D  Here’s the scarf, anyway…

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Brief updates & a request

So Dad got to come home yesterday, finally.  It was a bit of a battle, but we managed to get him sprung.  At the last minute, his temp went to something like 99.6º, so they said he couldn’t leave.  *sigh*  He drank a Diet Coke and took off his robe ~ made them take his temp again & it was only 97.6º.  LOL

My boss is wonderful ~ yesterday, he got me setup with a wireless card so that I can stay with Dad the next couple of days and still work.  He is fantastic!!

So a couple of my knitting friends have formed a team for the Stride for Strays 2008 event.  It’s a fundraising event to help save lifes of animals in Hillsborough County.  The funds will go towards providing low cost spaying/neutering animals – ACT has already done so for over 10,000 animals in Hillsborough!  Please, please help out  ~ visit my fundraising page & give a little, if you can!

So, on the running front – naturally, still barely any time to breath, let alone run!  I did set the alarm this morning in hopes of being awake enough to run…  but there simply was no way I could get up when it went off today.  I was just too tired.  Perhaps tomorrow!

Knitting – finished my one niece’s birthday presents and have begun the other.  I’ve got one scarf done, one headband done & the second headband well underway.  Next up will be her scarf.  :)  I’ve also got a couple shopping bags OTN, as everyone will also be getting those as holiday gifts.  Wow.  I just realized – this is the first time ever that I have NOT had a pair of socks OTN!  Unheard of for me.  LOL

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Not much time for blogging

Have spent many hours lately in the hospital since Sunday.  I had to rush Dad to the ER Sunday afternoon, he was having chest pains.  Found out for certain that it was a heart attack – not mild but not severe either.  Still waiting to meet/see the surgeon to find out how extensive surgery will be (we do know for certain that he needs bypass surgery).  He’s been having a really hard time accepting all of this & that has been the hardest part of it all.  Despite being a life long diabetic, he’s always counted on his body/health being strong ~ and he’s usually very aware of his own body.  He can tell when his sugar is up every time, as well as when he’s down most of the time.  I think this might be even harder for him because he really does know his body in terms of the diabetes, so this kind of came out of left field for him.  Or else he suspected from little warning signs, but tried to ignore it ~ I’m not sure.

I’ve been SO grateful that I have knitting & crochet to keep my hands busy the past 2 days.  SO much waiting, sitting around.  I’ve made some really good progress on the first Clapotis ~ decided to go ahead with making one for each of my nieces.  I’m using some very pretty Bernat ~ I’m intentionally using inexpensive & machine washable yarn.  I’d really hate to make them out of wool & have them get felted & shrunk to within  an inch of their lives!  Chances would be doubled for that, as they have a 2 home life, as so many kids do today (my own included).

Heading to work for a bit until 10 or my father calls with a surgeon report.  :)

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