Month: January 2010

An Ordinary Sunday Afternoon at Home

     An actual knitting post.  Imagine that!  I’ve been working on this neck warmer and the farther and farther along I got, the less and less I liked it.  So, I got on Ravelry.com to see how others have been changing it up and ran across an idea or two that I like a lot!

     My first problem with this project is the stockinette roll.  Don’t like it!  I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me that this was how it was going to be…  I know stockinette curls…  duh…

So the following are a few ideas:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This idea I love:  seed stitch all the way around.  I’m in the process of doing this right now and I’m liking it a bunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Got one long side done and I’m half way done with the second long side.  Still have to youtube-it to find out how best to knit a button hole on one of the skinny sides…  So now my dilemma is this:  Do I want it to button like the gray one in the above picture?

 

 

 

 

 

     Or do I want to close it like this one?  Isn’t this beautiful?  I can’t decide.  I found this one on Flickr.com and I can’t find a pattern anywhere that is similar…  So I’m thinking of closing my neck warmer this way…  Now that I think about it, though, it might be too long…  And then I’ll just have to wing it and make another that looks like this…

     Since losing 80 lbs now…  yep, 80!!!!!  I’m getting cold-natured again.  And actually I don’t know if it’s the weight loss or the hysterectomy last winter that’s making me more cold-sensitive, but I don’t care, I’m just loving it!  I love wearing long sleeves, sweaters, sweatshirts.  Just love it!

     So, let me know what you think about the finishing touches on the neck warmer, if you’d like.  I’d appreciate the input.

     And in closing…

     A gratuitous puppy shot! 

One Small Change Challenge

I have a list of blogs that I keep up with weekly.  They range from knitting and crafting blogs to Mom advice and homemaking hints to simplifying and going green.  Most recently I found www.frugalmom.net and www.simplemom.net and love all the creative information on them about going green and saving money, living on a budget and stretching your dollar.

I initially got interested in http://hipmountainmamablog.com/ because I noticed that she and her family live on the Front Range in Colorado, which is my old home and where my extended family all still live.  Not sure how I found out about her One Small Change Challenge, but I did and here’s our contribution:  We’re going paperless in the kitchen.  No more paper towels or paper napkins.  I began making cloth napkins yesterday from my fabric stash.  It took longer than I thought it would, but it was fun and I had all day to play with it, which was the best part.

I’m going to go through my stash again today and see if there’s any more fabric I can use for napkins and make a few more.  I think the trick for me will be to have a bunch of them and to make them easily accessible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Bee spotted all that fabric and me with my creative face on, his inner artist came out.  His contribution is napkin rings.  You may ask, “How is this going green?”  He recycled our last paper towel holder to make them!  I love them but I’m thinking I may need solid color napkins to make them really shine!

 

 

 

 

 I was big into cloth diapers and cloth wipies when the boys were babies, so I don’t know why it never occurred to me to do this before now…  I didn’t mind cloth diapers at all, loved how they looked and felt on my babies.  I didn’t find it to be much more work than regular old disposables.

So, here’s my paper towel alternative.  I’m also happy that I didn’t have to buy anything.  These were cleaning towels that I already owned, but had shoved into the back of the pantry and forgotten about.  Again, the trick for me is to have them ready to use.  Found the basket in the store room and we’re set!  Have to have the spray cleaner, because I’ve grown very fond of antibacterial cleaning, especially with two little ones who seem to have constant colds this time of year…  Ugh.

I think this is going to work and it pleases me to no end, because I’m passionately trying to cut costs right now.  Anything and everything I can think of to maybe…  not have to go back to work.  Wish me luck, this endeavor is very important… for me and my family.  And if you have any other ideas for saving money around the home, please share.  I’d appreciate it.

 

Photo of the day and What does a 9 year old do with a day off and 20 bucks in his pocket?

This is my photo from yesterday, taken on the drive to Scottsbluff for Will’s orthodontist appointment.  This shot is proof that there are pretty spots in the Nebraska panhandle!  You can see Chimney Rock over on the far right. 

So, onto more important things.  What Dood wanted to do yesterday, working around his second to the last visit with the orthodontist.  (he has one more adjustment and then gets his braces off on April 7th!  He’s very excited.  I’m already trying to think of a fun and inexpensive way we can celebrate.)

First off, he plays video games almost the entire drive up to Scottsbluff, happily engrossed in new games he got for Christmas and his birthday.  It was all good, I got to listen to Breaking Dawn and everyone was happy. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He picked the lunch spot and as usual it was Sonic.  He loves their kids grilled cheese sandwich and tater tots.  It’s become a tradition, so we may always go to lunch at Sonic when we do braces adjustments…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Went to Target and Wal-mart.  (apparently little kid favorite places to shop.)  Got a few groceries and a treat for little brother. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Went to the arcade and spent some birthday money.  He even won a little stuffed animal out of one of those moveable crane machines, which, sweet boy that he is, he gave to Bee.  I’m 42 years old and I’ve NEVER seen anyone ever win one of those crane machines.  This was a first for me and I was so happy for him.  He was beside himself. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, less than a half hour after eating lunch at Sonic, he announces that he’s still hungry and “Can I have a double cheeseburger?”

Alrighty then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then he spent some birthday dollars on yet another toy gun.  This boy is all about weapons:  guns, swords, knives, all that cool, boy stuff. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was in such a good mood and being so silly, in the car.  I told him I wanted to take a picture of him eating his cheeseburger.  He thought that was a very silly idea, but cooperated anyway.

Then it was time to head home.  We had just enough time to get home and pick up Bee at school.  It was a good, fun day for Dood and I!

Am I allowed to be happy then?

      Today is Tuesday, January 12, 2010.  I quit my job at the local preschool last Thursday afternoon.  It was an unpleasant departure and the feelings of doubt and second-guessing myself are still pretty constant.

     I don’t regret my decision.  I would do it again.  But I feel badly for not having been able to resolve the problems.  Frankly, I don’t know if I could have.  I gave it two good tries and failed.

     My honey says I need to get over it and move on.  He thinks I’m over-analyzing and worrying needlessly.

     So, I wonder, am I allowed to be happy then?

    

I’m Done

I've come to the conclusion that I've said everything that needs to be said here.

I'm done blogging.  I've enjoyed it very much.  Thank you for all your kind comments over the last few years. 

I wish you well.

Food 2009 Mosaic


Food 2009 Mosaic, originally uploaded by doo010101.

This post has me giggling this morning, because I know my mother-in-law is going to think it's silly… and I'm doing it anyway! (she thinks I'm crazy, taking pictures of food…)

I've decided to sign up for another project. I think it's do-able with my new working life and I think it'll help me stay grounded and enthusiastic about crafting. It's a Photo-A-Day. Not sure how long I can keep it up before I slip or forget, but I'm going to try it. I've seen several bloggers doing similar things and it looks like fun. Most recently been enjoying looking at this blog: www.musingsofessjay.com  . (Very sweet girl, who I was lucky enough to meet at the Knit-In in Des Moines last year.)

So, it's back to work and school this morning. The fact that the boys are really bummed about it has forced me not to be, trying to cheer them up and look on the bright side, focus on the positive and all that crap. lol

Truth be known, there is a small part of me that's looking forward to life returning to normal… whatever normal is… Wish us luck.