Viktor progress and First YouTube video

YAY, I finally got batteries for the digi, so have a shot of the new pattern.

Viktor

So there is a thread on Ravelry, talking about how we knit style-wise. Folks posted videos of their own particular style. I finally got my digi working & got my DS to give me a hand in grabbing a shot of my style. So, here it is! For some reason, I find it hysterically funny that my very first video on YouTube would be me knitting. ROFL!

I’m a continental knitter that sort of throws, too. he he he Oh yeah, and you get a bonus shot of Leonardo, who just HAS to get himself into every video/picture whenever he spies the camera.

Just a short one today, as I’m trying to make some serious progress on the new pattern. I’m hoping to get to the gusset work today, but we shall see!

p.s. ANETT, where ARE you?!

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Yet another working weekend

So here I am, working yet another weekend. I’m exhausted, can’t remember the last time I had a day off. It’s nothing new, really, just a part of life as a programmer. But seriously, if people would only listen when you tell them it is impossible to fit 10 lbs of crap into a 2 lb bag (so to speak), then we wouldn’t HAVE to work all these insane hours!! It is SO frustrating.

Yesterday, I worked from 6:30am to almost 1:00am, trying to get it all done so that I could have my weekend. Didn’t get there, I still have 2 more things left to do. I just might get to have tomorrow off, at least. *sigh*

I really, really want more time to work on my new pattern, gosh darnit!! The progress has been very slow, with all the work I’ve been doing this past week. But I’ve made enough progress that the pattern is showing nicely… and I think it’s really good. The important thing is that my son really likes it so far! He can’t wait to see the heel, once I get there. That ought to be interesting, trying to sort out that bit. We shall see, anyway!!

Yesterday my frustration with work was so much that I chucked it for a bit at lunch time & squeezed in a 3 mile run. It was hotter than hell out there & my heart rate was all wonky (probably due to the stress of work!), so it was slow going. But it really did help for a bit! I needed it, badly.

Today, the boys & I are going to go see Iron Man with a friend of theirs. My oldest actually asked me to sit somewhere else. My son expects me to sit all by myself?! *sniffle, pout, sigh* I guess being a “cool” Mom doesn’t extend to time spent with friends. LOL!

Oh, and I have to find time today to also take him for driving practice. That’s where he says I’m cool… that of everyone so far that has taken him driving, I’m the “coolest”. he he he Little does he know that deep down inside, I’m scared as well as sad that my boy is growing up.

Oh yuck. Leonardo just came over & loved on me. Left big Dane boogies on my shirt, along with a bit of the toilet water he apparently just drank. *shaking head* Hopefully today he will not plop his head on my keyboard & wipe out an entire section of code. He has that tendency. Some day, I must get someone to take a picture of that.

Off to work, play time is over.

Quotes for today:

We live in the age of the overworked, and the under-educated; the age in which people are so industrious that they become absolutely stupid.
~Oscar Wilde

More men are killed by overwork than the importance of the world justifies.
~Rudyard Kipling

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5am ramblings

Not much movement on the sock pattern last night. I do think that I’ve got the pattern finally nailed down, though! YAY! The next challenge will certainly be the heel flap design. I haven’t done colorwork before, so that will be a special challenge. I sincerely hope I can get it to work, as the image totally captured me the first time I saw it. I am quite sure that there will be HP fans that see it & will not know where it came from, as it really doesn’t stand out in the film… but I’m also sure that a number of fans will know exactly where we see it.

Spent most of the night finishing the book I was reading, “The Lightening Thief” by Rick Riordan. It is the first in the Percy Jackson series. My 13 yr old son absolutely LOVES this series and told me that I just had to read it. It IS a wonderful storyline – I can see this series going on for quite some time, actually. One of the things I love about it is that it includes so many stories/characters from classic Greek mythology. A subject dear to my heart, as I loved all the stories ever since I can remember. I read so many of them as a kid, I’m really happy that my son is enjoying a new variation of them.

For some reason, I am extra tired today. I hoped to get in a 5 miler this morning, but I’m not so sure. I feel totally off. I’m going to head out the door in a few minutes anyway, but we shall see how far I get. Most likely, it’s just all the stress of the past few weeks & the lack of sleep that has gone along with it.

Started back up with pushups yesterday… SAD, so very sad. I struggled to do 10 regular. Disgusting how quickly fitness slips through your fingers. I ended up with 10 regular & 30 wall pushups. I suppose I must start back over from the beginning again. *sniffle, sniffle* This time last year, I was doing 4 sets of 25 regular pushups!!

So I’ve recently been watching a couple threads discussing Harry Potter related topics. One is a bit of fluff about Emma Watson & having been photographed as she was getting out of a car in a short dress. Paparazzi, I swear. Shove a camera up a woman’s dress, then criticize her for her clothing choices & more. I’ve seen nasty remarks on several sites about her choice of panties for the evening all the way to nasty comments about whether she waxes or not. Boggles the mind, seriously!! Through the course of “discussion”, most of the posters were supportive of her. But not all, of course. Naturally, there had to be the odd posts of condemnation, showing that extreme Rush Limbaugh mentality by saying things like “ladies shouldn’t wear dresses or skirts that are shorter than the knee”. What is this, the 1950’s?

The other bit that I’ve watched discusses the differing attitudes & beliefs towards the Harry Potter series. Naturally, there are some blind zealots that insist the series is evil, promoting witchcraft & should be banned and/or burned. Of course, do not get me started on THAT discussion… suffice to say that I am mighty sick of all the misinformation still being spouted today regarding Pagan belief systems as well as the judgmental attitudes of some (strangely enough, they all seem to follow the path that teaches its students to not pass judgment on others).

Quotes of the Day:
“To sit in judgment of those things which you perceive to be wrong or imperfect is to be one more person who is part of judgment, evil or imperfection.”
~ Wayne Dyer

“If there’s any message to my work, it is ultimately that it’s OK to be different, that it’s good to be different, that we should question ourselves before we pass judgment on someone who looks different, behaves different, talks different, is a different color.”
~ Johnny Depp

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Shoes are not toys!

Aaarrgghh! I had just sat down to start my blog for today & I suddenly hear this squeaky rip/chew sound. It’s Leonardo, all over one of my sneakers. Trust me on this one, a 200+ lb Great Dane can demolish a good shoe in 30 seconds flat. So I just found myself snatching the shoe from him & scolding him: “Shoes are NOT toys”, as if he understood what I was saying. *shaking head* In true Dane fashion, he is sadly sulking on his blanky now because I yelled at him.

So, the new pattern. I’ve tried this & that with it, trying so hard to sort out a way to have vertical black stripes on either side of the sock. It just wasn’t working out too well, though, so I decided to hold off on that idea for these socks. My son really wants them red, anyway – though I am definitely going to keep the heel flap as planned, with the black design. I think I’m liking how it’s going now that I’ve stopped trying to keep the stripes in the pattern.

I got 4 miles done yesterday, YAY! Not at my best speed, naturally. I’m still going so darn slow. But at least my legs feel just fine, no sign of the tendinitis creeping back. Had a bit of stiffness in my knee that surprised me, but it feels good today. Mile 3, I felt like I’d found my stride & could keep on going. So I’m going to try to keep the runs at 4 miles or more, if I can. We shall see, anyway. Can’t wait for the day when I can do another 20 mile long run!!  LOL, yeah I know…  some folks probably think I’m insane, but at least any fellow long distance runners can totally relate!

So, my boys absolutely love their Ripsticks – so much so, that they tear through wheels like there is no tomorrow. It’s amazing, really. For those of you unfamiliar with these, this is a Ripstick:

Essentially, they are like a skateboard combined with an inline skate, if you will.

My youngest pointed out that I seriously needed to read the bottom of his Ripstick when he first came home with it (his father bought them each their own). Ayup. He had that devilish grin that told me I was going to get a good laugh out of it. Sure enough, check it out…

Gee, for some odd reason, the song ‘Warning’ by Green Day just won’t leave my brain… LOL!

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My new pattern

So I’m designing my next pair of socks… well, actually, I already have another Severus Snape pattern charted out, I just haven’t tested the pattern to see if it will work or not. BUT, my youngest has only one pair of socks to my oldest’s two… so he’s overdue his 2nd pair of socks.

My boys are very clear in what they like & what they don’t like. My oldest loves blue – so all his socks will be having some focus on blue. Except for the orange/green socks I’ll be making him to wear to school events (his high school colors). My youngest is a red/black fanatic. Everything he wears/owns is red, black or some combination of them. Occasionally with some white thrown in, but usually not. he he he

So, the sock pattern I’m working now is for him, so is red & black. These are also a Harry Potter theme, of course. I’ve tentatively named the pattern Viktor, as in Viktor Krum. I’m having fun with it, trying out different ideas. They have to be somewhat masculine in design, of course, so no lace or eyelets. Naturally, I’ll be making the first sock a “normal” length for the pattern pictures & writing of the pattern. But for my son, I’ll have to rip back and turn them into no-show anklets. Neither of my boys will wear socks that show above their shoes, go figure! LOL

Work has been really crazy lately, I’ve been working pretty much every day for the past 3? 4? weeks? I’ve lost track. It’ll be crazy for the next week, then I am really hoping to get some breathing room.

My oldest went for his learner’s permit test this afternoon. I kept telling him he needed to study, but he didn’t listen. Missed passing by ONE measly little point. Poor kid! I know he was upset, but I actually thought he handled it pretty well. Needless to say, you can guess what he’s doing tonight, as he hopes to try again tomorrow.

Just got done watching The Search for John Gissing. Hysterically funny movie! :)

Off to work on the pattern more.

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Totally neglecting my blog!

So yeah, I’ve become hooked on Ravelry of late, no time for blogging. LOL It happens to the best of us, I suppose.

Running has been progressing very slowly – I am determined not to push too hard & end up firing up the tendinitis again. Most frustrating, but there ya have it. Seriously considering investing in some “barefoot running” shoes, actually. I’m thinking it just might help, actually.

Knitting has been taking up all my spare time. Interesting bit about knitting… I’d taught myself the very basics years ago, but never finished anything. I just never got comfortable with it then. A very dear friend of mine (thank you, Anett!) convinced me to give it another go this year when I got hooked on making socks (I have several crocheted pairs now). So, at the beginning of February, I taught myself knitting again & finished my first pair. 3 months & 6 pairs of socks later & I’m designing my second pattern for sale on Ravelry!

My first pattern I’ve offered for sale is Severus – I am a huge Harry Potter fan as well as a huge Alan Rickman (a truly amazing actor, so talented!) fan. I couldn’t resist the urge to design these socks – and they turned out much better than I had even imagined. I’m as thrilled as thrilled can be!

Severus front Severus side

If you are a Ravelry user, you can purchase the pattern via Ravelry, the cost is $5.00 USD.

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