I have a new plan... I am going to set some monthly goals for my various long term knitting projects. I will report on the last Sunday of every month how I am doing on those goals. I feel like if I put them in writing some place, maybe I will keep them!!
1. Knit 1 hank of yarn on my February Lady Sweater
2. Knit 15 squares on my sock yarn blanket
For March, I want to accomplish the following:
1. Finish my Cookie A socks
2. Finish my December sock club socks
3. Make a sheep for Hannah's teacher
4. Start my pin-wheel scarf
That sounds like a busy month. I hope I can keep to it!
In other unrelated news, there is talk of eliminating Mac's advanced reading program. We are devastated by this, and I am sure I will find myself embroiled in a very heated battle to try and change this. So, if I get behind on blog posts, know I am off fighting the man. Any ideas about winning, please let me know. I think I am writing a press release to send to the papers.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Knitting
I have been knitting away... I made a log cabin blanket as a baby present for a friend of mine. It is a beautiful blanket, but it was not a short trip to complete. I started in October, full of enthusiasm. But you see, as the blanket grows, it is no longer as quick to complete. By the end, doing one color bar was a project of epic proportions. I was so happy to finish this, I can not ever tell you.
I also made a hippo to go along with the blanket. It is so wicked cute, that you almost forget how complex the pattern is. It isn't really hard, but very specific and every row is different. It really requires a lot of attention to detail. Everyone who see it wants one. I will probably make another.
Anyway, at least the hippo has time to read a book!
I also made a hippo to go along with the blanket. It is so wicked cute, that you almost forget how complex the pattern is. It isn't really hard, but very specific and every row is different. It really requires a lot of attention to detail. Everyone who see it wants one. I will probably make another.
Anyway, at least the hippo has time to read a book!
Friday, February 26, 2010
I read a book
I read a book.
That statement shouldn't be such a novel thing that it stands alone. (Pun intended by the way.) Except in the past two years I have spent so much time, moving and re-establishing myself that I haven't had time to read. Ok, I have also been knitting quite a lot.
Before all of this happened, I read about 2 books a month. Sometimes even more, when I would stay up late because I got into a book. Now, I only read at my mom's house. Which means, two books a year. It is sad, because I enjoy reading, but with Bob home, I find that it is impossible to read in bed. It is also really hard for me to read during the day because the kids are around and someone needs something. Short of reading knitting patterns, my ability to read is limited to magazines.
Anyway, I just finished a book I got from a friend in mid-January. In the spirit of full disclosure, the book I read was not Tolstoy. It was by the Yarn Harlot.. yeah, so it was a knitting book. I laugh because I seem to find time to read a knitting book and yet, can not find time to read say an actual book. I laughed, I cried, I was inspired, it was a great book. I really enjoyed it. Oh, and I also read the Mason/Dixon knitting book too... that stupid book inspired me to make a log cabin blanket. But, more on that nightmare tomorrow.
Until Bob starts to travel more, I don't really see this changing. Tomorrow I will show you pictures of what I have been up to when I haven't been reading.
That statement shouldn't be such a novel thing that it stands alone. (Pun intended by the way.) Except in the past two years I have spent so much time, moving and re-establishing myself that I haven't had time to read. Ok, I have also been knitting quite a lot.
Before all of this happened, I read about 2 books a month. Sometimes even more, when I would stay up late because I got into a book. Now, I only read at my mom's house. Which means, two books a year. It is sad, because I enjoy reading, but with Bob home, I find that it is impossible to read in bed. It is also really hard for me to read during the day because the kids are around and someone needs something. Short of reading knitting patterns, my ability to read is limited to magazines.
Anyway, I just finished a book I got from a friend in mid-January. In the spirit of full disclosure, the book I read was not Tolstoy. It was by the Yarn Harlot.. yeah, so it was a knitting book. I laugh because I seem to find time to read a knitting book and yet, can not find time to read say an actual book. I laughed, I cried, I was inspired, it was a great book. I really enjoyed it. Oh, and I also read the Mason/Dixon knitting book too... that stupid book inspired me to make a log cabin blanket. But, more on that nightmare tomorrow.
Until Bob starts to travel more, I don't really see this changing. Tomorrow I will show you pictures of what I have been up to when I haven't been reading.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The solution
The solution to my current problem is NOT UV lights as I once suspected, but...
This is found in Red Fork, NY.
What I can't say....
We can not always get what we want. As the song goes, sometimes we get what we need. It is hard to be a parent. It is hard to manage your emotions and respond to your child when you see someone treating them unfairly, at least in their eyes. It is especially hard in Chicago, where SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is high. As we have not seen the sun in ages.
I am tired of battling for Mac. I am tired of trying to get him to see if from the other persons perspective. I wish just once, someone could see things from his perspective. Just once someone could try and understand how much it would mean to him, to me. They could see how much it hurts him. Of course, when it hurts him, it hurts me.
I am tired of always being on the look out for the thing that will make him explode. I tend to put myself into situations that do not involved me, when it comes to Mac. As a result, I will tell you, I tend to get upset and then we don't have dinner. If someone screws with dinner, Bob is mad and then the whole house is in chaos.
This week has not been a strong week. We made it to the orthodontist appointment. It didn't go well. I had to deal with a crisis with Mac. So, going into today, I was already tired. I had already used up my reserves of energy and then another crisis. If we have another one tomorrow, I am not sure I can handle it.
So, until we can actually see the sun and go outside, I just hope that someone will recognize the good things about my kid. Just once I would love to get an email about something he has done that is good and not bad. Just once I would like someone to stop him and hand out an atta boy. I suspect his teacher might, but I am greedy here, maybe someone else could too.
Once the sun comes out, we will all feel better.. this makes me wonder if you can purchase UV flood lights. So, thanks for reading, I am off to look into UV flood lights. If you think of something nice to say about my kid, there is a comment section, have at it.
I am tired of battling for Mac. I am tired of trying to get him to see if from the other persons perspective. I wish just once, someone could see things from his perspective. Just once someone could try and understand how much it would mean to him, to me. They could see how much it hurts him. Of course, when it hurts him, it hurts me.
I am tired of always being on the look out for the thing that will make him explode. I tend to put myself into situations that do not involved me, when it comes to Mac. As a result, I will tell you, I tend to get upset and then we don't have dinner. If someone screws with dinner, Bob is mad and then the whole house is in chaos.
This week has not been a strong week. We made it to the orthodontist appointment. It didn't go well. I had to deal with a crisis with Mac. So, going into today, I was already tired. I had already used up my reserves of energy and then another crisis. If we have another one tomorrow, I am not sure I can handle it.
So, until we can actually see the sun and go outside, I just hope that someone will recognize the good things about my kid. Just once I would love to get an email about something he has done that is good and not bad. Just once I would like someone to stop him and hand out an atta boy. I suspect his teacher might, but I am greedy here, maybe someone else could too.
Once the sun comes out, we will all feel better.. this makes me wonder if you can purchase UV flood lights. So, thanks for reading, I am off to look into UV flood lights. If you think of something nice to say about my kid, there is a comment section, have at it.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
People you see
I was in line at the grocery store today, and I saw someone I thought I knew. I wasn't sure who she was until I walked out of the store. She was a mom I met once or twice at MOMS Club event. She clearly didn't recognized me, or choose to ignore me. I was purchasing steaks and she was purchasing organic rabbit food, and she made a sort of nasty comment about it, so I am assuming she didn't recognize me.
The thing is, that in spite of the fact that I have seen other members of the club at other events, this one seemed to get to me. When they were openly ignoring me and being sort of nasty, for some reason that didn't bother me. I was able to rise above it. But, seeing this one person, reminded me of how important this club was to me in the past.
In all honesty, I do not miss the club. There are very few things that are even scheduled at a time when I could go. Hannah is too old for most of the stuff any way and in all reality, I have out-grown them. I think seeing this one mom, took me back to a time when I loved and enjoyed what I was doing. It was a nice place to visit.
That said, I am busy enough, have enough on my plate and have relationships with people that share common values with me. I under-estimated how difficult it would be to find like minded people here in the middle of the country. But, now that things have settled down with our lives, it seems like things are starting to look up in this area of our lives too.
The thing is, that in spite of the fact that I have seen other members of the club at other events, this one seemed to get to me. When they were openly ignoring me and being sort of nasty, for some reason that didn't bother me. I was able to rise above it. But, seeing this one person, reminded me of how important this club was to me in the past.
In all honesty, I do not miss the club. There are very few things that are even scheduled at a time when I could go. Hannah is too old for most of the stuff any way and in all reality, I have out-grown them. I think seeing this one mom, took me back to a time when I loved and enjoyed what I was doing. It was a nice place to visit.
That said, I am busy enough, have enough on my plate and have relationships with people that share common values with me. I under-estimated how difficult it would be to find like minded people here in the middle of the country. But, now that things have settled down with our lives, it seems like things are starting to look up in this area of our lives too.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Can't tell then can't remember
Sometimes things happen that beg and plead to be a blog post, but the problem is that I try very hard to only tell my story, and not the story of anyone else. Lately, life for me has been pretty boring. Even my kids are not doing anything funny.
Sure, today we have to go to the orthodontist. Yes, I went last Monday, because when I wrote down the appointment I saw that it was on Washington's birthday. For some reason, that became Presidents' Day in my head and we showed up at the orthodontist at 4:00 last Monday, only to find the office closed. When I returned home, I realized that the mistake was indeed mine.
Yes, I had a long, passionate conversation with the librarian about the book I was CERTAIN I had returned. Only to ask Mac about it and to have him come trotting downstairs 5 minutes later with the book in his hand. The up-shot is that the book I was insisting I returned was not actually the book that they were looking for, so at least I haven't totally lost my mind.
It would be accurate to assert that when a friend of mine told me she was planning to come to my party tonight, I responded, oh, I am so sorry, we will miss seeing you. Her response was confusion, your going to miss me, but I am coming? Upon re-reading her statement, I saw, she did indeed say she was coming, and I read it at a regret. I need to learn to read.
You are totally correct that when asked when Sam's birthday was, I answered in all honesty with Hannah's birthday. Only to have the lady at the Park District say to me, umm, your daughter's birthday is that day too, are you sure about the date? I did get the year correct, because I do know how old he is, at least today.
Yes, it is true, that I am completely unable to get out of my own way. It is somewhat amazing I don't get lost when I return home from taking the kids to school. It would seem I do enough things that are interesting all on my own, but sometimes things happen that I feel the need to espouse some poignant opinion on. Sadly, this story, is not mine to tell, and if I did even talk about the subject matter in a philosophical way, I would be betraying the trust of the friend who has shared his/her story with me. So, today, you will just have to know, that there could have been a good post, but in the spirit of keeping a secret, I am not sharing. Sadly, once I can share, I will probably have forgotten about what I wanted to say.
Sure, today we have to go to the orthodontist. Yes, I went last Monday, because when I wrote down the appointment I saw that it was on Washington's birthday. For some reason, that became Presidents' Day in my head and we showed up at the orthodontist at 4:00 last Monday, only to find the office closed. When I returned home, I realized that the mistake was indeed mine.
Yes, I had a long, passionate conversation with the librarian about the book I was CERTAIN I had returned. Only to ask Mac about it and to have him come trotting downstairs 5 minutes later with the book in his hand. The up-shot is that the book I was insisting I returned was not actually the book that they were looking for, so at least I haven't totally lost my mind.
It would be accurate to assert that when a friend of mine told me she was planning to come to my party tonight, I responded, oh, I am so sorry, we will miss seeing you. Her response was confusion, your going to miss me, but I am coming? Upon re-reading her statement, I saw, she did indeed say she was coming, and I read it at a regret. I need to learn to read.
You are totally correct that when asked when Sam's birthday was, I answered in all honesty with Hannah's birthday. Only to have the lady at the Park District say to me, umm, your daughter's birthday is that day too, are you sure about the date? I did get the year correct, because I do know how old he is, at least today.
Yes, it is true, that I am completely unable to get out of my own way. It is somewhat amazing I don't get lost when I return home from taking the kids to school. It would seem I do enough things that are interesting all on my own, but sometimes things happen that I feel the need to espouse some poignant opinion on. Sadly, this story, is not mine to tell, and if I did even talk about the subject matter in a philosophical way, I would be betraying the trust of the friend who has shared his/her story with me. So, today, you will just have to know, that there could have been a good post, but in the spirit of keeping a secret, I am not sharing. Sadly, once I can share, I will probably have forgotten about what I wanted to say.
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