Thanks again to my SP8! I got these last week but I wasn't able to post the picture until today!

Another big "thank you" to my friend Linda who gave me all this great sock yarn!

This is Linda's prize winning bag from my adapted Button-hole bag pattern. What you can't see is the folded in edges that expand if it is full. We were both awfully proud of this, especially since it was made with Lion Brand Wool from H*bby L*bby!

OK, so I'm doing better at my job. Day 1-2- and 3 were hell on Earth and 4 wasn't much better. Day 5 was a little smoother, but then I went to my foot doctor and well.....it sucked. I'm still in Das Boot (up to the knee) for 3 more weeks, going to do some additional physical therapy and then I'll be having foot surgery and wearing Das Boot for another 5-8 weeks after that. Apparently my plantar fasciitis is too bad to operate on now and the swelling and such has to go down before the surgery can be successful. OK, whatever. I was really bummed until it dawned on me that all fo that down time that I'll have to just sit around and keep my foot elevated, that I'll be able to get TONS of knitting done...silver lining I suppose.

My dear friend and knitting queen Linda (who does not have a blog, but really really should) made a felted purse from a pattern I just kind of pieced together earlier in the summer and she won 1st prize in theKnitting category at our county fair this weekend! WOO HOO. I have a pic and will post later.

Right now I want to remind you that when you go to the store and you see a person driving one of those little motorized shopping carts, please be kind to them because they are awkward and slow and hard to drive (my 1st attempt shouldn't have been on a Saturday at Wally World! LOL). I did treat myself to the new Interweave Knits magazine as weel as the Fall Vogue Knitting. Both look great, but it seems to me that cables are really really in this fall adn winter so I need to get busy and figure out how in the world to do that! LOL.

Off to watch the Emmys on Tivo!

I'm here, just babrely keeping up!

So yes I have been knitting, but not a lot. This is all I've done. I'm working on Em's sweater. This is from the Kool-Aid yarn that we recycled and dyed. The colors are strawberry and pink lemonade. It's coming along, however, very very slowly!
Em on her 1st day of 2nd grade. This was a great day for her as it was a new school in a new state and she is already close to being Miss Popularity. I don't care if she is, but I do know that she now gets more phone calls than I do!
Nan all ready for her 1st dance lesson. She is taking ballet, tap and tumbling for preschoolers! She rocks!

As for me I started school. Let's just say that I'm on day 3 and wishing it was day 183. It's the toughest job I've had except for being a mom and I'm wondering how I'll muddle through. I've never been so anxious for Friday in my life.

I received this email fwd the other day. I cracked up because I completely understand. I know there are some Okies and some Texans out there that visit so this if for you!

DIARY FROM OKLAHOMA
Just moved to Oklahoma! Now this is a state that knows how to live!!
Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings. What a place! It is beautiful. I've finally found my home. I love it here.
June 14th:
Really heating up. Got to 100 today. Not a problem. Live in an air-conditioned home, drive an air-conditioned car.
What a pleasure to see the sun everyday like this. I'm turning into a sun worshipper.
June 30th:
Had the backyard landscaped with western plants today. Lots of cactus and rocks. What a breeze to maintain. No more mowing the lawn for me.
Another scorcher today, but I love it here.
July 10th:
The temperature hasn't been below 100 all week. How do people g et used to this kind of heat?
At least, it's kind of windy though. But getting used to the heat is taking longer than I expected.
July 15th:
Fell asleep by the community pool. (Got 3rd degree burns over 60% of my body). Missed 3 days of work. What a dumb thing to do.
I learned my lesson though. Got to respect the ol' sun in a climate like this.
July 20th:
I missed Lomita (my cat) sneaking into the car when I left this morning. By the time I got to the hot car at noon, Lomita had died and swollen up to the size of a shopping bag, then popped like a water balloon.
The car now smells like Kibbles and Shits.
I learned my les son though. No more pets in this heat.
Good ol' Mr. Sun strikes again.
July 25th:
The wind sucks. It feels like a giant freaking blow dryer!!
And it's hot as hell. The home air-conditioner is on the fritz and the AC repairman charged $200 just to drive by and tell me he needed to order parts.
July 30th:
Been sleeping outside on the patio for 3 nights now, $225,000 house and I can't even go insid! e. Lomita is the lucky one. Why did I ever come here?
Aug. 4th:
It's 115 degrees. Finally got the air-conditioner fixed today. It cost $500 and gets the temperature down to 85. I hate this stupid state.
Aug. 8th:
If another wise ass cracks, 'Hot enough for you today?' I'm going to strangle him. Damn heat. By the time I get to work, the radiator is boiling over, my clothes are soaking wet, and I smell like baked cat!!
Aug. 9th:
Tried to run some err! ands after work. Wore shorts, and when I sat on the seats in the car, I thought my ass was on fire.
My skin melted to the seat. I lost 2 layers of flesh and all the hair on the back of my legs and ass . . . Now my car smells like burnt hair, fried ass, and baked cat.
Aug 10th:
The weather report might as well be a damn recording. Hot and sunny.
Hot and sunny. Hot and sunny. It's been too hot to do $hit for 2 damn months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week.
Doesn't it ever rain in this damn state? Water rationing will be next, so my $1700 worth of cactus will just dry up and blow over.
Even the cactus can't live in this damn heat.
Aug. 14th:
Welcome to HELL! Temperature got to 115 today. Cactus are dead.
Forgot to crack the window and blew the damn windshield out of the car. The installer came to fix it and guess what he asked me??? "Hot enough for you today?"
My sister had to spend $1,500 to bail me out of jail. Freaking Oklahoma.
What kind of a sick demented idiot would want to live here??

Friday Five.... (I've been tagged so you can be too!)

1. Do you really make wishes when you blow out the candles on your cake? yes

2. Have any of the wishes ever come true, if yes? not really

3. How do you feel about birthdays? (e.g., love the attention, just another day, don't want anyone to know my real age, etc.)I LOVE birthdays! Mine, and everyone else's. It's a wonderful day to celebrate!

4. Tell us a favorite gift you've received, or something you'd really like for your next birthday and when is your next birthday. Yarn, yarn, oh yeah and Gift Certificates for YARN!! I'll be the big 3-0 on September 25th.

5. What flavor cake? Chocolate or anything CHEESECAKE! Chocolate Cheescake is even better!

I'm here... really I am...

Ok, digicam cord is broken so can't upload pics. Going to have to get a new one soon.

Em started 2nd grade today...sob.

We are doing fine here and I"m knitting I promise. Working on Em's birthday sweater that is just kind of my own creation, but it's out of my recycled sweater, Kool-aid dyed yarn. It's looking great!

Also, THANK YOU to my SP8 for the great package I got on Saturday! Two skeins of sock yarn in a white, blue and orange colorway and a beautiful doilie! WOO HOO!

Countdown....

OK, according to the Christmas countdown I have 135 days counting today (August 11th) until Christmas. YIKES! While I have some quiet time this weekend it is time to get the party started on Holiday knitting. My dishcloths for the swap are either finished (1), in progress (1) or planned (1). I have various birthday presents that need to be created as well before then. I REFUSE to be freaking out like I did last year. Anyone else out there that is a freakishly panicked planner?

Dishcloth Swap and other stuff....

If you signed up for the Dishcloth Swap then you need to check your email. I sent out the participants this evening. Please email me if you need anything.

It has been CRAAAAZY around here the past week. I started my new job and training (teacher and curriculum supervisor for Tulsa Public Sch00ls. I've been in meetings and trying to get my room ready for the students. Let's just say that the room was a mess....(understatement) and just leave it at that. One good thing about the meetings is that I have been knitting. So far 3 dishcloths and 1/2 of another B4 Bag for Maw-Maw's (Mr. Outdoor's great-grandmother) birthday at the end of the month.

We are not having any MIL problems anymore (knock on wood), Lilee is doing FABULOUSLY, and I'm surviving little by little.

I am having issues with coping with housework and chores since going back to work. It wouldn't be a big deal if I had help, but I don't at all. Mr. Outdoors thinks because he works that he doesn't have to help me because his job is "harder" (physical more demanding) than mine. We are working on that. MIL and FIL planned a weekend at their lakehouse (*groan*) for Mr. Outdoors, Nan, Em, myself, BIL, his wife and our nephews, oh and Maw-Maw. Although, normally I'd be ok with it I really really really don't want to go because it's going to be too hot, awkward and just overall not a great time for me. I told Mr. Outdoors that he and the girls could go without me, but I ended up with a guilt trip as it was the last weekend of "Summer VacatioN" before Em started school (next Wednesday). That being said, I have to get a lot of things done around the house before that day comes so I might be out of town and I might not. I'll post before I go, just in case for the DishCloth girls.

I'd rather stay home, clean, do my chores and list of "Must dos" as well as a little garage-saleing and thrift store shopping for sweatwers to unravel instead. Oh...and a little bit of knitting wouldn't hurt either! LOL

I'll post pics when I can. Stupid Digicam cord has decided to be a MAJOR pain!

Update: I was let off of the hook and am staying home by my lonesome (w/exception of Lilee) all weekend! WOO HOO! So much to do, so much to do!

Reminder....

DON'T FORGET!! Sign-ups for the Dishcloth exchange close on Thursday at midnight! I'll try to have your buddies out by Friday sometime as I'll be going out of town for the weekend! If you haven't signed up it's not too late! The rules and expectations are on the Swap Blog!

YAY YAY YAY!!

Lilee is home!! THanks for all prayers and well wishes!

From beginning to end... a recycling story! LOL

Merino Wool (100%) sweater bought at a garage sale on Saturday 8/5/06 for 25 cents.
Sweater Saturday afternoon in the middle of unraveling.
Saturday night dying, also continued this morning (Sunday). I used the Knitty Tutorial on Kool-Aid dyeing.
Hanging to dry on the back porch this morning.
After all way said and done I had eight 8 oz skeins of yarn, dyed in various colors. Also a stray shoulder pad.

All in all I'm THRILLED with how it all turned out even though it was a 12 hour ordeal (actual time worked on unraveling and dyeing). I can't believe that I have 4 pounds of yarn out of one sweater. I will say that it was 25 cents for the sweater and then I spend $2.00 on the Kool-Aid. Not too shabby. I'm looking for a good pattern that I want to use for the girls' sweaters. I honestly recommend doing this at least once. We had a great time and are happy with the results (4 pounds of merino wool for $2.25 LOL).

Look for the silver lining....

Ok so that is my new theme song, at least going through the weekend. I know that there are TONS of other people, many of which I know personally, that have been going through tougher times than I. However, for me it's been a rather tough week. The dog officially has Parvo and I will not know for another couple of hours if she is going to be able to come home. She was doing great this morning. Up and around, wagging her tail and went potty ok outside, however the vet said that this is from IV fluids only. She hasn't had anything to eat or drink. Yesterday she was great too, and then right after they gave her something to eat and drink she got deathly ill again, so all we can do is wait and cross our fingers.

My 1st day of work went ok. There is much to do and the school in which I'm at is the one that came in at the bottom of all elementary schools in the Tulsa area. I've decided to look at it as we don't have anywhere to go but up! It's going to take a lot of work, but it's going to be awesome and a great year.

THe GFSCS is completed and I really really like it. Nan and Em both want one. If you live near a H*bby Lobby, this is a cheap great cotton soft yarn to use called Baby Bee.

On the side I've been knitting a dishcloth. I love the colors and it's all done in Sugar and Cream! I didn't know that they made it in black which was a great contrast! I'll probably make a couple more with this color combo!
The sweater above was purchased this morning at a garage sale for 25 cents. It is 100% Merino Wool! The seams look good and I'm going to attempt to unravel this weekend.

Thanks for all the thoughts about Lilee. We love her so much, even though we have only had her for 2 months, she's our baby (by we and our I mean me and the girls). But we will handle whatever life brings our way. Have a great weekend.

Murphy's Law....

Ok, first things first. Mr. Outdoors asked his grandmother about what happened (she was present during MIL's nasty phone calls to me on her cell). She concurred exactly with me. He completely apologized! WOO HOO! So things are looking better. We are just avoiding her for a while until she starts the next new drama.

I had my first day of school today. Well, technically anyway. I had a training, but today is my 1st contract day. We don't have kids at school until the 21st, but I have a lot to do.

Murphy's Law is in effect. This morning I just KNEW it was going to be a sucky day because as soon as I poured my iced down Diet Mount*in Dew I spilled it. Then I fixed another one and about 3 minutes later spilled it again! LOL. Then I turned around to let the dog out of her kennel and found that she had sh!t EVERYWHERE. She was sick and dehydrated and it was awful. I took her outside and cleaned her up trying to get her to drink something. She wouldn't . I cried, called the vet and then told Mr. Outdoors to take her as I had to be at work. Nan cried from the second she got up because she asked if I could stay home w/her today and I told her she couldn't so she screamed all the way to daycare/preschool. Em spent the day with ther great-gran Polly and she went off and forgot a change of clothes (went in her PJs) and had to drop some off to her before I left town.

Lilee is really sick. The vet thought she might have Parvo, but then the test came back negative. He said it's a really really bad virus. She's on an IV and a catheter right now. We won't know how thigns are going to turn out until tomorrow morning. If she gets better she'll probably come home sometime Saturday. So we won't be going to the lake like I thought. No biggie, sheis more important. Good news.....I think I'll be finished with the GFSCS sometime this evening. Both sleeves are finished and all I've got left is the collor! It's just too cute! The girls are already begging for one for them.

Mind games, Boots, and work oh my!

MIL is up to her old tricks again and pissing me off. We had a major altercation (totally her fault and she apoloized in writing) last week while the guys were in Canada. I thought it was water under the bridge. I didn't give Mr. Outdoors the entire play by play because it was over and done with. Today (exactly one week later) she calls him into the house (he works in a shop behind their house). She proceeds to interrogate him as to what I told him. She fills in the blanks with utter lies and pisses Mr. Outdoors off, however her mission was accomplished he was mad at me. He calls and wants to know why I didn't talk to him and tell him everything (because if I have a conversation not related to the Outdoors it has to be less than 5 minutes or he shuts down and quits listening.). We have lived near the in-laws for less than 2 months and already the drama is at an all time high. I've really never been so ready to pick up, leave and go back to Nebraska.

On other notes, I'm freaking out because I start working in 2 days and I'm so not ready to give up my summer.

My plantar fasciitis is back and with a vengeance. Very painful and quite awful. I went to both an orthopedist and a podiatrist today and was told that I have to go back to wearing the boot (knee high fracture boot) until the 25th when my orthodic is ready. Then I'll use that for a month, see how it works and then most likely (both said 80%) I'll be having surgery on my foot. Grrrr. When it rains it pours.

I'm working on the GSCS and it's coming along slowly, but nicely. I started the 1st sleeve today. I'm hoping to be finished sometime by the weekend...hopefully.

*** Oh and the August MagKnits is out. I'm kind of disappointed. Nothing totally fabulous that catches my eye.