This and that and a heartfelt Goodbye

After planning a camp out with our ward for about a month, going out and buying a tent that would fit the four of us comfortably, getting the marshmellows, and all the shabang for the camp out. We get a note on our door today, same freaking day of the camp out saying that the whole thing has been changed. No more camp out, only a dinner and "come and socialize" thing. It seems that our camp ground was double booked and we were the suckers who missed out. Bryant was not very happy. He had been looking forward to camping out for a few weeks now. Personally, I am not a big fan of sleeping outside without the commodities of modern day plumming. But, my little Bryant was sure looking forward to it and it was a major let down.

In other news, yesterday's Knitters Nite at Yarn Today was a blast! There was commotion galore. Some of the gals had taken a new class offered the day before on Knitting 2 socks on 2 Cable Needles. Well....it was chaos. All we kept hearing was "and you turn the needle this way and you use the needle of the same color tip, and you jump, and you can't make two changes at the same time...etc.." To me, it sounded complicated and to think that I was very tempted in taking the class--I think that I will skip this one and try to learn it on my own with the help of Sockknitters. The whole idea of knitting 2 socks at the same time though is very alluring. It means having the socks actually MATCH!! I tried it with the 2 sets of dpns, but it is not working out, however, if you have both socks on the same needles, it seems that it forces you to finish them at the same time. Well, we'll see, I have the instructions, I have the needles, now all I need is the will and the time to try it out. Also, at this meeting, I got to meet Tina, a looming friend from one of the Yahoo groups I belong. We enjoyed chatting about looms and she brought with her a gorgeous loom knitted baby blanket done completely in popcorn stitch. The beauty of the blanket is revealed when you turn it around and see the non-popcorn side--it is just fabulous!

Lovely, lovely Kim is moving tomorrow to Lexington, VA. I was able to see her this evening to tell her goodbye. I have only known her for about 4 months, but she has been there with me since the beginning of my knitting with needles adventure. She is an amazing cook and I just love her chocolate truffles. She is sweet, lovely, kind, and most important-thoughtful, and she has a terrific sense of humor too.  I will miss you, but we will see each other soon :). I wish you the best in VA...don't forget us lonely people in dry, hot, Utah.

Deprivation

Deprivation: to take something away from.

Withdrawal: the act of taking back or away something that has been granted or possessed (1) : the discontinuance of administration or use of a drug (2) : the syndrome of often painful physical and psychological symptoms that follows discontinuance of an addicting drug <a heroin addict going through withdrawal>

All those things above described how I was feeling for the past 24 hours. Withdrawal symptoms major!!

Our Internet was down, even our TV was fuzzy, nothing to do, both me and Sam felt naked without access to the web. Our whole livelihood is linked to it, and being without it for 24 hours left a hole in our bellies.

Finally today, the Internet was restored, I was finally going to get my "fix". It felt satisfying to say the least.

Of course, the moment I realized that it had been restored, mayhem broke loose in my house. Nyah decided to throw a temper tantrum because I wouldn't walk her around. As I tried to set her down so she could sit and play, she squeeled and kicked and screamed. She refused to sit down, and crawling is not one thing she would do. As I struggled to sit her down, she kept on screaming her little lungs out. As I battled with her to comfort her, I saw Bryant exiting the bathroom, yep, the same bathroom he had exited not five minutes ago. I saw him, actually, I smelled him. And he turned and I saw poop all over his right leg. Ahhh!!! So, I rushed to take Nyah to the crib. She was angry and her little fists and legs were showing me how mad she really was. I rushed into the bathroom with Bryant, of course, the leg was not the only thing with poop, as I lifted his t-shirt--his white t-shirt!! Ohh, it was awful, awful. I spent the next 15 minutes cleaning him and cleaning the floor, the pot, and disinfecting the entire floor. Every time I have to do this, I think to myself that I should have gone into nursing. At least, I would be making good money cleaning messes like this.

Finally, the crew was under control. Bryant was clean, the bathroom was usable once again, and Nyah was peacefully asleep. Time for mommy to come and get her "fix" at the computer. DRATSSS!! The Internet was DOWN AGAIN!!!

Alpha Moms

After reading the entry on Denise's blog on Motherhood's Magic Bullet, I had to read the article. Actually, it was more like a MUST!

And all I can say is the following: What a freaking joke!!! A new take on being a Mom--the 21st Century Mom. Guess what you will need? Moneyyyyyy. Money to hire a village to help you raise the "perfect" kid, for a "perfect" society. And money so that you can keep living your previous childless lifestyle. Yeah, have a child but have others raise him and be there for them while the parent goes away and works 100 hours a week just to make ends meet and pay the village for raising the child.

I don't know if it is just me and Denise, but I think this particular lady has missed the entire point of being a mom. Yes, we are in a different time and we do need help raising our kids, but c'mon, I think every one out there knows that the most important thing that a child needs is LOVE from their parents. I don't need some parenting guru to tell me that and I for certain wouldn't hire someone to tell me something so darn simple.

I have not watched the Alpha Mom TV channel, and I don't even know if we get it here in Utah, but I do wonder what type of shows they are airing.

Yes, I do crave the business world, the hustle of NYC and the dinners and the friends, but to have all that again will mean that I have to miss being with my kids--missing all the important phases of their lives. Seeing my daughter picking up the small little cheerio and stick it in her mouth. Bryant going successfully to the pot for 3 weeks in a row. Yeah, I don't deny that it would be really nice to have a nanny and a night nurse that would take care of all that. However, during the middle of the night, when Nyah wakes at 2am in the morning crying and I rush to her and cradle her in my arms and sing to her and feed her, or when Bryant has a terrible nightmare and I cuddle him close--those moments are the best in parent's life. I understand that the Alpha Mom just wants to raise a "successful, well-behaved child" but all parents want that. Unfortunately, we can't all hire a "village" to help us raise them. Some of us, have to do it the old fashioned way--being there 24/7 for them. Even if I had the monetary means, I don't think I would want to hire someone else to help me with the kids, maybe to clean the house, but not with the kids.

No, and I was not one of those women who grew up thinking that all they ever wanted to do was to be a Mom. All I ever wanted to do was work and play. When motherhood knocked on my door, I was still finishing college. It was difficult, crap, it was terrible! But, I did it and I also took care of my little boy who cried incessantly. However, I couldn't have done it without Sam. But we did it--without the village :). Would they ever get into Harvard--who knows, but I do know this--unless something tragic happens to one of us, we are going to be the ones raising them--not the nanny!

Motherhood as I have come to realize is the most difficult job in the world, well, it is. We are responsible for the bringing up of citizens of this world. We are responsible for all they learn and what they don't learn. Motherhood is synonymous with unselfishness. It means giving up of your time-all your time. You can't have a schedule for when you want to be a mom/dad. "Carving out" the time your kids or husband can be with you sounds like they have to make an appointment with the doctor.

Thank you Denise for posting this on your blog--I like you, cannot believe it. My mouth was just wide open-even flies got in, lol. If that is the Magic Bullet of Motherhood--I am way of the mark myself. Now, if I can also carve myself sometime to do my makeup sometime today, or make dinner, or better yet-to go to the gym and get myself in shape again, but oohhh, Nyah calls :).

Well, better go, Nyah has an appointment with me now, LOL.

Toasty Hats Update & SP5

Our Toasty Hats count is up to 211 thanks to some wonderful loomers :). Come see the pictures here:

Toasty Hats Count

Also, I received a little something from my Secret Pal--the envelope had a small accident on its way here, but it arrived :). The little stitch markers are safe AND the great thing is that I can use them both on my knitting looms and on my knitting needles. Thank you :).

My favorite one is the one with the yarn and knitting needles :).

Thanks for all the ideas

Thank you all for all the wonderful ideas and for trying to help fix my drawer mayhem. I saw that some of you suggested me whipping one out in the ol' sewing machine. But poor Isela is sewing machine impaired :(. I can't sew anything. How bad am I with the sewing machine? Well, I tried sewing some baby blankets for Nyah--you know, piecing two pieces of fabric together--the darn thing took me 2 freaking hours to complete!! And, it wasn't near perfect, and once I put it in the wash, it got even worse!! So, sewing something myself is out of the question. Plus, it would be more expensive--I would have to buy a sewing machine first! Yep, I live in Utah and I don't own a sewing machine--somebody call the police, lol.

But don't despair for my needles, I have fixed the problem, at least for a bit--until I go out and get a-wall buying more needles :).

So far, my needle numbers are still low, but considering that I have only been knitting since March--well, let the numbers tell you how crazy I've gone:

• 11 Pairs of Circular Needles
• 9 sets of DPNs
• 4 sets of Single Points

Sticks Galore!

I don't know how this happened, it must have been in the middle of the night while we were all asleep, but yesterday morning I got up and I found that I had a bunch of knitting needles all scrambled in a puny little drawer. Something must happen soon! This terrible chaos must be fixed!!

The needles have duplicated themselves--they are monsters, monsters I tell you!!

Ok, so the needles are not breeding themselves, but I did go out and got a second set of dpns in sizes 0-2 and two sets of size 6 & 7 single points. Making the knitting needle list a bit long. At first, it was easy to control all the needles in the tiny drawer, but now, it is chaos and mayhem. The circulars are tangled with my single points and the dpns keep getting out of their little bags and getting missplaced.

The solution? I found these online, thanks to Interweave Knits. They are made by the HugMeCo. They are gorgeous, but the prices are crazy way too expensive for my pocket. Or am I just hallucinating? Is this the price for these things in the market today? If you know the answer, let me know please.

   

Goodies in the mail

I know this blog is for my knitting and looming, and as you probably have seen, not much talk of knitting goes on. It is just a yada, yada about my kids...yep, I don't get to knit as much, however, I do get to spend lots of time with the little imps. Although I spend 18 hours of the day agonizing about the headaches they give me, I truly love them; and the happiness they bring cannot be compared to anything, not even finishing a sweater! As I spend half the day getting after them, and trying to teach my 3 year old that talking back is not good and will get him trouble in life, and I keep banging my head against the wall when he misses the potty, I keep telling myself that they will turn out in the end. I have come to realize that they are the best thing in my life--right next to Sam. Ok, enough getting smooshy about the kids.

But now, back to the goodies, Aunt Becky, send us all a box full of treats.

Here are the kids among all my junk on the floor playing with all of them--note: Nyah is sporting her brand new and first scarf! It has a yarn that tickles her neck and everytime it touches her, she squeals in delight. Bryant, as you can see, he is trying out my goodie on him and Nyah.

And this is me wearing my new Packers ball-cap (Becky, I hope I spelled that right). I would like to point out that it is Pink. Pink was a color that I never used to wear, but I was recently (yesterday) told by my wonderful better-half, that I look very good in pink, so from now on, I will be wearing more things in pink ;). 

Now about this ball cap, it is the second one I own in my life, the first one, was given to me by Sam when he proposed to me on Christmas night. That cap is beige with an Adidas symbol on it. I don't get to wear it much because it is usually on someone else's head--Sam's! However, I bet he will not dare wear my new PINK Packers hat! But, I wouldn't be too sure, he is a devil just like Bryant and he will probably wear it just to show me that he is not bias in his colors. Of course, he did have a pink sweatshirt when he was little, lol, so maybe pink is his favorite color to wear, lol. Ok, enough teasing the hubby. You know, he is one of my faithful blog readers (Hi, sweety :) ). He claims that it is the only way he can get a heads up if I am mad at him.

Update on Toasty Hats--175!

Toasty Hats is hot, hot, hot!! We have reached and surpassed our first goal of 100 hats. We are up to 175!

Thank you to all of you wonderful loom knitters who have helped me in this little quest.

To view photos of the hats, view the photo album named Toasty Hats, or go here Toasty Hats.

We have also acquired a few more Loom Knitter's Blogs in the Loom Knitter's Circle ring. It is just a few of us, but hopefully more loomers will start blogging soon :). Beckyyy---hintttt!!

Oh, and I am so psyched, after a long wait, I finally got into the ROAK webring. Thank you all of you for welcoming me :).

In knitting news, I would like to point you to a brand new pattern by Miriam. It is a lovely Braided Cable Scarf. She has the link on the left side of her blog.

Tchau :)

Reading bits and knitting tidbits

Well, the weekend passed and with it came Harry Potter 6. Yeah, I was a sucker and I went to the Borders party and got one of the first few copies--I was number 1071 (they started at 1000) so I was not very far behind :).  Although I was very tempted to start reading it that same night/morning. I behaved and started the next day. I am pleased to say that I finished it Sunday night around 1am.  My thoughts on the book: it left an empty space. I feel like I read the first 500 pages just to get to the good stuff, and once I was in the good stuff, it ended very abruptly. Now, I have to wait about 5 years for the grand finale. 

In knitting news, I procrastinated for a good month to have a project done, now I am trying to catch up. The project is very simple, loom/knit/crochet 6 Dishcloths and make them into butterfly shape with a piece of Chenille Stem. I am taking this as an opportunity to practice my needle knitting then transposing the stitch instructions into looming.  Here are my first two.

And, last but not least, here is the picture of my kitty cat, caught in the act!!

New Webring for Loomers

Well, since I wanted to belong to a Loom Knitters Webring and I couldn't find one, I created one.  Those loom knitters out there reading this, if you have a blog and would like to join the ring, check the following link:

Loom Knitters Ring

I am currently learning the whole "Ring" thing so be patient with me. 

I

Toasty Hats Brigade

The latest quest on the Decor Accents, Yahoo Group is to loom/knit/crochet at least 100 children hats to send to the Ukraine.

A very good friend of mine and her husband-whom happens to be our home teacher, are going to the Ukraine to adopt two little girls (maybe three--they got approved for up to 3 children). I am taking this opportunity to send a few warm hats for the little angels in the orphanage.

We are working in a very short deadline as we don't know exactlly when they will be leaving, so we are going to make as many as we can in a two week period.

If you would like to help me out in this small but most important quest--email me :). 

Let's make a difference with our knitting in a child's life :).

Toasty Hats, Toasty Hats, Toasty Hats!!!

Me new toy :)

It is so slick and tiny, it plays exactly what I need to make me run just a little faster on the rodent machine infamously called "treadmill".

Yeah, it is not the Ipod, but I couldn't afford that one, this one is the cheapest one I found, but it works. Now, I just need to see how in heck I can arrange the songs while they are in there, it seems that it alphabetize them, LOL.

One thing I realized while downloading songs to it:

1. Darn, I am getting old!

2. My music is from the 90's & 80's--must get new music!

3. I ABSOLUTELY love Dance music! It just calls my name and my feet want to move!

4. Once I start listening to my good oldies, I can't go sleep, LOL. I should just go running now, LOL, what a shame my neighbor is asleep.

Well, better go to sleep, 6am comes soon, especially when you hit the pillow at 1am!

My next Hi-Tech purchase: A Camera Phone so I can always take pics for the blog :)

Baby Sweater finally done!

This particular baby sweater was my first needle knit project, do you remember it? Yeah, I had stashed it away after my knitting 101 class, it still needed to be seamed and blocked, yadayada, anyways, I dislike the color so much that I never sat down to seam it. I told Rita from Yarn Today about it and she said just to bring it in and she will seam it for me in her machine. It took less than 5 minutes and the sweater was done!! Beautiful--*my first needle knit project* is finally finished, 3 months later :).

In other less happy news, I had to clean my stash closet. I realized that it was a complete mess and no one could ever find anything in there. Here are a few shots of the closet now--no picture of before--believe me, it was a MESS! Oh, if you are wondering where are all the looms--they are hanging on the walls and in a big box :).

   

That last shot is of my latest impulse purchase---I have been wanting to try that Trampoline Sock yarn-it has stretch :). That pattern in the background, well, I have admired it since I first went into Rumplestiltskin. Miriam can tell you how many times I have looked it over coveting it-so, I finally gave in and bought it. My plan: to have it made before the end of the year so Nyah can wear it.

Thought of the day:

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it-Edith Wharton

Just for fun!

What type of knitting needles are you?

You are interchangeable. Fun, free, and into everything, you've got every eventuality covered and every opportunity just has to be taken. Every fiber is wonderful, and every day is a new beginning. You are good at so many things, it's amazing, but you can easily lose your place and forget to show up. They have row counters for people like you!

What Type of Knitting Needles are You?

London Friends

I want to say something inspiring that will surpass every day words, but I am choked up with the sadness of it all.                            

"Imagine all the people living life in peace.
You may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one.
I hope someday you'll join us,
and the world will be as one."
-- John Lennon

May all our London friends and relatives find comfort in this tragic time. My thoughts are with you.

Loomin' Toon

Yep, I know this blog started because of my addiction love to my Decor Accents looms and no, I have not forgotten about them, actually, I have acquired more and I have been busily creating things for the "dreaded pattern book". I think I am going to take a line from Becky and call it the "Good Grief Pattern Book" :). Yeah, it has been a little difficult to put things together and the afghan that I was working on before our road trip to Mesa Verde, well, it is still sitting there waiting for someone to feel sorry for it and finish it.

I have come to realize something extremelly silly about me and crafts, want to know? It seems that I get really excited about trying new crafts, but once I try them and realize that I can do it, they loose their appeal...does anyone else go through that? Like right now, I am going completely crazy about trying socks on needles--why, because they seemed like an unachievable goal two months ago. Now, I am starting to feel at ease with them, BUT there are soooooo many different patterns out there for them that it may take me awhile to get bored.

With this new found information, I realized why loom knitting has been apart of my life for these many years not only because it brings food to the table--it is a challenge. It is a challenge coming out with new ideas, and new patterns. Right now, the challenge that most loomers are facing is to overcome the dreaded holes that appear after finishing the heel in a sock. Many new ideas have come forth, some work, some not so well. So, I gave one of the ideas a try, and with that said, I present you the Chunky Comfy Slippers.

Pattern is not ready yet, but it is pretty simple. It has a ribbing at the top, then the short row heel, just like in needle knit, a pick up of stitches for the gusset, then the body of the sock. The toes of the sock are tapered by short rowing, not gathered, for a more comfy fit :).  I created this pair in about 2 hours with interruptions! So, if you are uninterrupted, you can surely finish these pair in about 1 hour! I will be taking this pair with me to Nite in Knots this Thursday at Yarn Today. I will leave them there for her to show with the looms they have on display, right now they have a lonely hat.

Well, it is about 11pm and I think I am going to try to put in a few rows on my lace sock :)...if I had a treadmill, I would put in 30 minutes on it, but no treadmill, must comform with knitting, lol.

A Quick & Dirty IQ Test--Just for fun!

Your IQ Is 110

Your Logical Intelligence is Average
Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius
Your Mathematical Intelligence is Exceptional
Your General Knowledge is Above Average

A Quick & Dirty IQ Test

Ok, so according to that test, I am not a complete dummy, but for the life of me I can't figure out how to put the code into this screen so it shows it exactly like the final page in the test. Oh, well!

Awesome, wholesome Family Time

So, the 4th of July passed, we all survived the "long weekend". Sam and I took Monday off and we spent it with the family. We didn't have anything planned as fun was concerned, just a simple gathering with the family in town. But, things that go unplanned sometimes turn out to be the most fun in our lives. Here are a few shots of the day:

That is the kids in their swimming pool slide--yep, they loved it. It is just a piece of plastic and water, but they had the most fun ever.

Here is Bryant after his first run down--the water was a tad cold, lol

We had a blast watching the kids. My sister-in-law's cat had a batch of kitties and here is one of them.

Oh, also the SSS monster looked away for a bit and I was able to finish Bryant's socks, yippee!!! I got so excited about finishing them that I decided to start another pair. Brace yourselves, it is a lace sock pattern---ohhhh!!! I am psyched!!!

Me new sock, with some lovely yarn that Becky sent me--no label on the yarn though, and I absolutely love the color pattern that I am getting with it. Word of advice for me when knitting lace, no matter how simple the pattern, do not watch The Chronicles of Riddick action film while knitting it.

Later--must go feed the baby now :).