Rock my world...

When I was younger I had an interesting toy.  It kind of looked like the planet Saturn...there was a yellow playground-type ball in the middle of a black plastic platform.  The objective was to stand on the platform, remain stable, and bounce around.  Not being the most coordinated person, I had some difficulty remaining stable.

I found the same to be true when I tried to make the switch from regular roller-skates to in-line skates.  It just didn't work for me because I couldn't maintain my stability.

I like stability.

I like order.

I do not like my world rocked.

I do not like change.

Or upheaval.

We are living in less-than-stable times.  The economy isn't great, the government is bitterly partisan, and jobs that people thought would always be there and be secure aren't.

Who would have thought that there wouldn't be a need for good, quality, caring teachers?

No, no.  I didn't lose my job.  At least, not yet.  Some of my friends did, though.  I found out about it late Wednesday night and I am still so sad about it.  Some of the people that lost their jobs over the weekend have been at the school for a long time.  Two of them have been my coworkers for 17 years.  They didn't do anything wrong.  They didn't curse out a parent or student.  They didn't abuse any kids.  They didn't lie, steal, or cheat.  They are just victims of the times we are living in.

I don't think any of us ever really thought we would be this affected by the situation.  I mean, we had been through down times before and teachers never lost their jobs.  Everyone, myself included, always thought that teachers were SAFE.  Untouchable.  Secure.  We found out over the weekend that sadly, this isn't true anymore.

I went in for my meeting yesterday and everything seems to be ok as far as my position.  I can sense that there are other changes coming that I don't even know about yet, though, and that is unsettling.  The last, the VERY LAST thing that we need is another school year with turmoil and uncertainty.

And instability.

Did I mention I hate change?

:(

Well, lookie here...

it's me again!  Two whole days in a ROW!

Aren't you proud?

lol!

Actually, I am here because this week I am prepared for Ginny's Yarn Along.  So here, without further ado, is what is on the hook and on the Kindle:



*crickets chirping*

*more crickets*

Sorry.  I was mistaken about the whole "further ado" thing.  It seems that miss raven needed to take care of some urgent personal business.  Not what you are thinking, though.  She wanted to take care of the urgent personal business of sitting smack on my lap thus preventing me from typing on the computer.  I may have gained weight back but my lap is STILL not big enough for her and the laptop.  Because she is so persistent, she wins every time.

Anyway.

Here you go:

As you can see, I am still reading the crochet mystery series.  This is the last one for right now (the new one comes out in a couple of months) and I can't really tell you all that much about it since I just started it.  On the hook, though, is a wonderful piece of loveliness.  At least it will be once I am finished.  I hope.  I picked up a book with patterns for Tunisian crochet (all the stiches remain on the hook through one pass and are worked off through the back pass.)  If I complete this project correctly, It will end up as a large rectangle that I will then give a little twist to in order to create a Mobeius strip which will then make it a shawl. 

Was that as complicated to read and understand as I think it is?

I promise to take pictures when I finish.

I have a swap buddy and apparently I have more people who read my blog regularly than I thought.  Sorry if I offended anyone by saying that only my BFF would notice if I didn't blog my Yarn Along last week.  I'm glad to know that more people read than I think.

:)

One final note...now that I am not the "boss" at work anymore I get to be friends with some of the people that worked for me.  I had a wonderful lunch with one of them today.  It was nice to have an adult conversation with someone and not talk about work!  I have a meeting at work tomorrow (YES, I am STILL on vacation and am going in to work) and then I am going to see another friend of mine for the afternoon.  I have tentative plans to go see a movie with another friend on Friday and then my dad comes to see me on Saturday.  Phew!  My vacation is going by fast!

Have a great Thursday and keep cool!

Hola!!!!

I'm still here.

On vacation.

Running around and doing stuff.

Someone (at work yesterday--yes, I went in, I had a meeting.  More on that another time.) told me I had "vacation face".  You know, like "Pudding Face" from the Jello pudding commericals.  I thought that was pretty funny.  And true.

Just wanted to let you know I am still here.  I have a busy rest-of-the-week so I will be back when I have a wee bit more time.

:)

Oh yes!  I almost forgot!  I have a Swap Buddy!  Whoo-hoo!!! :)

A couple of updates....

It is hotter than Satan's armpit outside today.

And....

I LOVE IT!

I say, "Bring on the heat!"  I'm a Texas girl; I can take it! :)

I did not Yarn Along yesterday, as I'm sure you could tell.  All one of you (cough, BFF, cough) who checked to see if I blogged about it.  I did crochet yesterday, but it isn't something I can share online right now.  Besides, I didn't take pictures.  I am planning on crocheting today as I found a couple of shawl patterns on Ravelry that I like alot.  Other than that, and drinking plenty of Crystal Light, miss raven and I plan on staying inside today and staying cool.

Well, except for when I have to go out to water the garden that is turning tratorious on me. 

Sigh.

Just when I think I have things figured out there, it throws me for yet another loop.  I have gotten several tomatoes off (and they are GOOD) as well as a few cucumbers.  My larger peppers develop some kind of mold on them before I can harvest them and the small peppers aren't very sweet.  The tomatoes, though yummy, crack on the top before they are mature and the cherry tomato plant seems to have given up altogether.  The cucumbers were doing well but now seem to remember that they are supposed to frustrate me and have gone back to their old ways.  We won't even get in to what the green beans and the squash plant are doing.

As frustrated as I am with all of this, I am still planning on having a garden again next year.  I have some ideas that will hopefully eliminate some of the difficulties I had this year.  All in all, though, I would have to say that,for my first attempt at gardening, I was pretty successful.

Ok.  Off to keep cool, crochet, read, and stay hydrated.  Have a great day!! :)

A mish-mash of information...

As you know, I am officially on vacation.  So far it has been lovely.

:)

Since I am not in the mood to write a lot, I will give you pictures...

It's hotter than I don't know what here and I love it!  They are calling for TRIPLE digits by the end of the week and while everyone else is whining and complaining I say "Bring it on!"  I love the heat (especially since the AC is still working, thankfully!).  I wish I could bottle these warm days up to use during the cold winter.  :o/

Tomorrow is Yarn Along and, while I am reading a book, I am in a crochet funk right now.  My miters aren't working out like I had hoped (after many, many tries) and I am about to abandon them for something less frustrating.  Come back tomorrow to see if I have had any luck! :)

It's...

1.  FRIDAY!!!  I love me some Friday!

2.  PAYDAY!!!!  I really love me some payday!!!

3.  THE FIRST DAY OF MY VACATION!!!!!  Oh, how I love me some vacation!!!

4.  Her birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HANNAH!!!!!!  I'm so sad that I'm not going to be there for her birthday.  It is the first one that I have missed in a very long time. :(

5.  And last, but not least, her birthday!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS RAVEN!!!!!  Mommy loves you so much and you bring so much joy into my life!!!

Swap update:
Someone else signed up for the swap!  (And you know who you are.  ;) )  Thanks for the encouraging words--I really appreciated them. :)

I'm just...

Yarnin' Along!

Phew!  I wasn't sure I was going to make Ginny's Yarn Along this week but I did! :)

I grew a wee bit tired of making washcloths/dishcloths/dish towels so I was looking for something new to make.  I have some stunningly gorgeous yarn...ok...I have alot of stunningly gorgeous yarn and I have some ideas bouncing around in my head but, truth be told, I am kind of scared to use the yarn on an idea.  What if I mess it up?

Anyway, that is neither here nor there at the moment.

I have seen much of the mitered squares blanket on the internets.  Sadly, it is all knitting.  (No offense to knitters.  I am actually quite (quietly) jealous of you all. Read:  socks, socks, and MORE freaking gorgeous socks.)  I got to wondering, though, if I could make it work for me.  So today, I found some yarn in my stash (and the good Lord above knows that I have enough stash to create my own yarn store.  For real.) that I could play with and decided to give it a go.

Here are the results along with what I am currently reading:

Yes, that is a crochet mystery book.

Obsessed much?

I found them online and downloaded the first one to my Kindle last week.  I'm now on the third one.  They are kind of cheesy and very, very easy reads.  Annnndddd....I love them.  There is only one more after this one and I am kind of worried there won't be anymore.  Oh--they include at least one crochet pattern and at least one recipe.  Love!

Swap update:  remember how it felt to be... the last one picked in gym...standing against the wall at the dance...always the bridesmaid, never the bride?  Yeah.  That's me.  Everyone seems to be interested in the other swap.  The more expensive one.  I thought we were in a recession, people?!?  NO ONE has joined the swap I am in.  Sigh.  I can't swap with myself and I am not sure what happens if no one else joins in.

I leave you with a picture of my girlie:

as drawn by my nephew.  ;)

Only one more day of work until my THREE WEEK LONG VACATION!  Who's excited?  Not me! :)

Buckle Up, Boys and Girls...

this is gonna be a long one!

First up I am once again joining up with Ginny's Yarn Along!

On the hook are some star-shaped washcloths made with Sugar and Creme yarn.  I love the blue/green/white one because it reminds me of the beach.  I still need to soak and block them but I want to do a few more so I can do that all at once.

I'm re-reading Anne of Green Gables for the bazillionth time.  I usually read it about once a summer or so.  Right now seems like the best time to keep with that tradition.  I love the whole series but the first two have been and always will be my favorites.

As you can see, I'm also reading the Food section of the newspaper.  Sometimes they have some really cool ideas in there that I always tell myself I am going to try.  Someday I will.  Probably.

Anywho.

Here are some current garden pictures:

I can't wait until the larger tomatoes are ripe.  The cherry tomatoes I have been eating are so yummy!

I signed up for a yarn swap on Ravelry today.  I'm kind of excited about it, and, being the geeky nerd that I am , I have been checking every hour or so to see if anyone else has signed up.  The best part about this...are you ready for this...it is a FIBER, COFFEE, and CHOCOLATE swap!  Could there be anything better?  I think not.  I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

I'm meeting a friend for lunch on Friday.  Very excited about that.  I used to see her every day and now only see her sporadically.  I miss her.

I also miss my BFF but that is another long, drawn-out, and sad story that I will not subject you to.

Speaking on my BFF--this picture of my freshly colored hair AND face is just for her.

You're welcome.  Hmph.

For those of you that remembered, I had a meeting at work today.  It went well and I thank you for your thoughts, wishes, and prayers. :)

Finally:

because I love her.

So...not quite as long as I thought but very picture laden.  You are welcome.

A clean bill of health...

Guess what?

She

got a clean bill of health from the vet today!  She can eat crunchy food and crunchy treats again!  She is very happy and so am I. :)  We celebrated by going to Petco and buying a new bag of crunchies, some treats, and a few birthday presents.  Don't worry, I made sure that she wasn't looking when I put the presents in the cart.  It wouldn't do for her to see her presents early.

;)

A great big THANK YOU to my brother, sister-in-law, and the kiddos!  I used my gift certificates to my LYS this weekend and picked up this

and this

I so, so , SO wish you could feel the pumpkin yarn.  It is so soft!  I have it next to my chair so that I can reach out and give it a loving little squeeze every now and then.  It is Cascade Alpaca Lace and let me tell you...it is some of the yummiest yarn I have ever had.  I can't wait to find just the right project to use it on.

I love the blue, too.  It isn't quite as soft but I think the colorway is gorgeous!  It is a merino/silk combo from Miss Babs and it is called Wreck of the San Felipe.  For some reason that just tickles me.  I love the creative name.

So, thank you, loving family for my gift.  I promise to put it to good use. :)

Yarn Along tomorrow!

BTW--don't you just love the new placemats?  I think they are so bright and cheerful.  :)

I got them at Target over the weekend.  They were originally $2.99 and were marked down to $1.48.  I figured I could handle getting two at that price.  When I got to the register, they rang up at $.74!  SCORE!!!

If it begins with "Martha"...

I am no Martha Stewart.  In the future, if something begins with Martha and ends with Stewart I should probably LEAVE. IT. ALONE.

I was reading a few blogs over the weekend and they had all seen the cover of the new Martha Stewart magazine.  The cover of the mag had these amazingly gorgeous cookies on them.  Cookies that looked like fireworks bursting.  You know, in honor of the 4th of July. 

Oh, how the writers of the blogs raved about those cookies.  How cute they were, how easy they were, how utterly fabulous you would be if you, too, made those cookies.  I fell for it.  Hard.

I bought the magazine, bought the necessary instruments (meriguine powder, disposable icing bags, icing tips, gel food coloring in red and blue, and cookies.  Yes, I bought the cookies.  Ssshhhhh! PLEASE don't tell Martha!).  I came home, prepared the Royal Icing (the name alone should have been a clue!) and set to work.  Only I ran in to a few, um, issues.

--I don't have a whisk attachment for my mixer.  Hmmmm....ok.  I just beat it a little faster.

problem solved

--I was about 4 ounces shy of a pound of powdered sugar.  Hmmmm...ok.  I'll just adjust the recipe.

problem solved

--The meriguine powder and the water weren't forming "soft peaks" while mixing on medium speed.  Hmmmm....ok.  I'll just turn up the mixer.

problem solved

--The icing was too thick.  Hmmm...ok.  I'll just thin it out a little with some extra water.

problem solved

I finally got the right consistincy and was able, albeit messily, to fill up the squeeze bottle with the white icing and the two disposable bags (fitted with the proper tips) with white icing tinted red and blue.  I set to work.

The squeeze bottle was sticking when I tried to outline a circle on the cookies.  I'm still not sure what was the problem since, a little later on, it decided to unstick.  FAST.  ALL OVER ONE COOKIE.  The bag holding the red icing decided to split where it met the coupler (that was holding the tip).  Red icing was everywhere.

Please try to imagine just how sticky this royal icing stuff is.  And sweeter than anything you can imagine.  I spent about half an hour mopping my little kitchen when I was done to try to prevent an onslaught of ants.  Blech!

About an hour, and a great deal of patience later, I ended up with these:

And this:

And I have decided that, if it begins with Martha and ends with Stewart, I want nothing to do with it.

Ugh.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA !!!!!

Things I am loving...

at the moment.  and in no particular order.

1.  miss raven.  ok.  she is first for a reason. :)  she woke up this morning with an upset tummy and hasn't eaten much today.  I am working on not fretting too much.  She has a follow-up appointment with the vet on Tuesday.

2.  SUMMER.  I love me some summer!

3.  Rita's.  I have converted my brother and his family now.  I am working toward converting the world.  In my opinion, we wouldn't have all these wars and such if the world would eat more Rita's and drink more Starbucks.  In my humble opinion, of course.

4.  Eastern Market.  Went there this morning.  forgot my camera.  sorry, bff!!!  Bought a bag of red potatoes, a carrot, and onion, and a few pieces of celery (for only four bucks) from a lady who looks old enough to be the mother of God.  Not the Lord.  God.  I'm not kidding.  And she was as sweet as could be to me and as ornery as the devil to some guy who complained that the price was too high for what he was getting.  I won't repeat what she said because I would prefer you to picture her as a saintly little old lady.  ;)

5.  Ikea.  enough said.

6.  my garden!!!!  tons of cherry tomatoes, several more green peppers and some cucumbers that look like they might last!  I am a happy girl!

and that is all!

bye for now. ;)