Mother of Purl!

Back to school again!

2012-01-17T11:05:00.002-07:00

Geez. It never ends. I am so tired of listening to so called adults whining and complaining about their lives and never doing anything to change things.

I've got a co-worker that does nothing but man bash on her Facebook page, talking about how she's single by choice and wouldn't have a man because they don't treat her like she deserves, etc. In between those posts she bashes her baby daddy because he's a sucky father. Yeah, he is. But you picked him, and you agreed to the custody arrangements with him and he gives you a pretty decent child support payment each month, so be happy he's not a total deadbeat. And honey, get over him. You can tell us all you want that you don't need him or any man but actions speak louder than words and frankly your actions are screaming (half naked pictures posted on Facebook tell everyone what kind of man you expect, even if it's not what you want!).

Quit bashing guys and think about where you are meeting all of these losers! Quit hanging out with your bimbo friends in the titty bars or the skanky small town bars you frequent. You aren't going to get filet mignon if you hang out at Purina! And if you want a man to treat you better, you'd better start treating yourself that way!

*Sigh* Off to another day of babysitting ;)

Christmas

2011-12-26T09:54:00.001-07:00

Thank goodness it's done for another year! I'm not quite a Scrooge, but it's close. I enjoy the food at the holidays, and music of my choosing. But the music at work has been making my ears bleed since Black Friday. And I am absolutely sick and tired of grumpy people who waited until the last minute to do everything and now suddenly it's my fault that they can't get what they want....

We did have a lovely weekend though. G was off Christmas Eve & Christmas Day and I have a three day weekend with Monday off as well. Saturday evening we drove around looking at the holiday lights and actually spent sometime together (much to my daughter's chagrin. She wanted to go read in her room, lol).

All presents were gleefully accepted and loved, although my mother threw a monkey wrench in things by not buying Isabel her traditional Christmas pajamas, and buying her a robe instead (which we had already bought as well!). So the robe we bought will go back at some point. I had originally planned on taking it back today, but decided I really don't want to stand in a line for ages at Wally world. The patience just isn't there, ever.

I got my Kindle Fire for Christmas, and I love it. The problem is getting it away from the kiddo!

Anyhoo, off to snuggle under a blanket and read for a bit.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, see you in the new year!

NOTE: Lost all of my blog links when I changed layouts, so if I missed you, please let me know as I can't remember all of the addresses (that's why I have a blog list after all!)

Caramels. Take 2

2011-12-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

Actually, don't take any, they are so good I don't want to share ;)

This time I used this recipe:
1/2 C butter
1/2 C light corn syrup (dark will not work!)
1/2 C light brown sugar
1/2 C white sugar
1/2 C sweetened condensed milk
1 t vanilla

Melt butter in large microwave safe bowl. Stir in syrup, and sugars, mix until dissolved. Microwave on high for 3.5 minutes. Scrape down sides and stir. Microwave on high another 3.5 minutes. Add vanilla, pour into buttered pan.

For easy clean up, I lined my 8x8 pan with parchment paper and buttered it, the caramels just lift right out of the pan that way. I left mine on top of a cooling rack long enough to cool then tipped it out to cut with a pizza cutter. I'm thinking next time I will refrigerate it a bit before I cut them, since they stuck together as I cut them, haha. Also, once I did put them in the fridge, they went hard as rocks, but they soften up quite nicely if you leave them at room temp for a bit again.

These were soooooooo easy, and I am very pleased with how they turned out. I will definitely be making them again. We always have sweetened condensed milk on hand since it's G's favourite treat, lol.

Venting

2011-11-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

My caramels sugared and sucked, so Black Friday will be cake day instead of candy. I was very annoyed at the end of the entire process.

Anyone want a slightly used, tween, cheap?? Little Miss Attitude informed me that she won't be able to clean her room today because she has to write an ENTIRE story (I swear, you could hear the capital letters in her tone of voice!) today. Because yesterday her Word program was acting up and she couldn't do it.

Well, then I guess I don't have time to go to the library and get the book you've got on hold that you have been waiting for, since I had to work yesterday and this is the only day I have to run errands, since my next day off is Thanksgiving when nothing is open.

In a household with 5 computers and only 3 people, she couldn't find one that was working?? Dad slept most of the day, and I was at work, so why didn't she use the newer computer? Oh that's right, she was too busy playing games on it to do her homework.

So since I don't have to go to the library, I shall just do my errands without a sulky preteen along and she will have time to write AND clean her room!

Isn't she cute??

2011-11-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

Baking day!

2011-11-11T22:09:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow (after I hit the yarn store and the grocery store) I am going to attempt to make these:

Sea Salt Caramels with Vanilla Bean
Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 vanilla bean pod, split and scraped
1 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup Lyle's golden syrup (or light corn syrup)
1/4 cup water
Instructions

Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly butter parchment.
Bring cream, butter, vanilla, vanilla beans, pods, and sea salt to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.
Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.
Remove pods and carefully stir cream mixture into the caramel (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248 on thermometer. Pour into baking pan and cool 30 minutes. Sprinkle another pinch or two of salt over the top of the caramel for a nice salty crunch and let sit until completely cooled. Cut into 1-inch pieces (I buttered a pizza cutter), and then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting 2 ends to close.

If they work out, this may be what I take in on Black Friday. Then again, I have a tub of pumpkin chocolate chip cookie dough that the owner of Mary's Mountain Cookies gave me because she knows I love them. Maybe I will share...

And this:

Pumpkin Spice Sauce

Ingredients

For the pumpkin spice syrup:
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 cinnamon sticks or 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
3 Tbsp canned pumpkin
For a single latte:
1 shot of espresso or 2-4 Tbsp very strongly brewed coffee
6-8 oz skim milk, heated or steamed until very hot
1-2 Tbsp pumpkin spice syrup (or to taste)
Whipped cream, optional
Salted caramel sauce, optional
Instructions

To make the syrup: Cook sugar and water in a small pot over medium heat until the mixture is completely clear.
Whisk in the remaining ingredients and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not allow mixture to come to a boil.
Allow mixture to cool for 10-15 minutes.
Strain syrup through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer into a large jar or bottle of your choice.
Keep syrup in the fridge, it will last a while.
To make the latte, combine espresso with heated milk, and 1-2 Tbsp of pumpkin spice syrup (add to taste).
Top with whipped cream and salted caramel sauce, if desired.

Last year I tried several "copy cat" recipes for pumpkin spice lattes. This is the first that has a sauce, rather than just adding pumpkin and vanilla to milk (Blech!).

In knitting news, sadly Dot the Sparkle Monster is no longer with us. I got distracted by something on TV and missed several decreases, dropped a stitch somewhere, etc. Tomorrow I go to the yarn store to see if I can find a 16" size 7 circular needle in an attempt to save my sanity :-/

So tired

2011-11-09T18:23:00.000-07:00

of staying late, coming in early, skipping breaks, missing lunches and especially of having to babysit my freaking employees! I'm sorry I didn't say thank you to you for doing your job, for getting your work done, for coming in close to when you were scheduled (only 10 minutes late) and for leaving the moment your shift was done. I am sorry for saying thank you to the other person who came in on his days off and came in early every frickin' day to help me while slighting you....

And did anyone fucking thank me for coming in early, staying late, missing lunches and breaks to do my job?? No. Am I upset about it? No, because the best damned thank you I get is that big fat bonus check next month. It's my job to make sure my clients are happy and if that means I miss a meal here and there to kick an order out the door, then that's what I will do, and most of the time I do it without whinging (though missing lunch does make me cranky, so watch out!).

Seriously though, why should I single you out just because you did your job without putting in a bit of extra effort when your co-worker worked his fanny off and did it whenever I asked him to??

And instead, I have to play nice and apologize to my employee in order to keep fucking harmony. What I really want to say is "GROW UP!" but I can't. I have to say BS like "You made yourself so invaluable to the team on a regular basis that we forget to thank you." Blech. And now I am going to have to go to my boss and restore harmony by asking him to make both of my employees Employee of the Month next month, even though only one actually deserves it.

Crazy

2011-11-05T20:17:00.000-06:00

Crazy busy week. We had huge order after huge order which just gets stressful after a while. I have one employee who is awesome and will come in early and on his day off. I have another employee who always bitches about not having enough hours and says she will come in, until you actually ask her, then it's "Oh sorry, I have plans." I have stopped asking her, and just giving J. all the hours he wants. Thank goodness he was scheduled all weekend, because honestly, if it was up to the other person, I don't think stuff would have been done on time. And yay, everything should be done now, so I can actually spend tomorrow relaxing, or knitting Dot the Dress Up Box Monster, one of the two...

Yeah, about that... Dot take 1 was a nightmare. The Magic Loop is not magic for me. All I ended up with was a tangled mess that I ended up throwing away :( Take 2 ended up a mess when I somehow twisted my stitches. I finally gave up and stopped for the moment. I think I shall Kitchner Matt's leg instead. (Matt is ninja #2, since at the moment he has no arms and no legs and just lays there, like a matt, lol).

There has been no progress what so ever on the crazy quilt because I have been distracted with cuddly toys ;)

Meet Stumpy

2011-10-20T20:02:00.000-06:00

Stumpy was named Stumpy during the regretful period where he only had one leg. Unfortunately for Stumpy, I had to go to work the next day, and just had to stop knitting. And unfortunately for Stumpy, the name stuck, even when he got his second leg. Although DD keeps calling him Bob.... What the hell kinda name for a ninja is Bob??

By the time I am done, I shall have knit an army of ninjas, and they may just band together and take over the world. Or maybe just the entire Tri-State area!

Seriously though, all my co-workers think he's adorable and for the low, low price of $5 each I have offered to make them their very own ninjas! The $5 covers my yarn cost, between them the little extra will pay for stuffing and felt. Honestly, they are fun and easy to knit, so as long as I am paid for supplies, my time is well spent. And when I am done I do believe we will have to take a picture of our virtual rainbow of ninjas taking over my copy center, before they head off to storm the castle.

What do you call a ninja with no arms & no legs?

2011-10-18T07:24:00.001-06:00

A1: Mine!

A2: Nearly finished!

Hahahaha.

7 Squares

2011-10-16T17:43:00.003-06:00

Here they are as promised, the 7 completed squares for my crazy quilt blanket.

7 Squares.

Click for a larger view with notes on yarn.

Crazy Quilt Update and other cool things

2011-10-15T19:50:00.002-06:00

The weather turned lovely and cool last week, then wham! Shot right back up to 80 today. But it's still very much Fall around here. I have a 3 day weekend to enjoy, so I see much knitting being accomplished while I watch spooky-ooky shows on TV.

I have 7 squares complete, and I plan to lightly block them tomorrow, just so I can see them laid out and pretty, lol. I shall also take pictures! I promised the kiddo a pair of socks, since the very girly ones I knit for her are already too small. *Sigh* I will likely cast on for them tomorrow, but....

I MUST knit this first!

Isn't it cute?? It's Ninja (duh) from KnitWit, by Katie Boyette. So many cute patterns in there, but this guy is first and the DD is asking for a pink one as well, hahaha.

Edited to add: 10-17 I have most of my ninja's head knit, even after having to go back and unknit a row to find my start again after rearranging on my needles to discover I lost my stitch marker along the way, lol. I need to get some polyfill so I can start stuffing him as I knit the rest.

Down day

2011-10-02T17:11:00.000-06:00

I've had a rough day today. I can't remember having a day this bad in years. It's not that anything bad has happened, I just feel very down. That's the demon named Depression. It leaves me alone most of the time, but then WHAM! There it is again.

I woke up with a headache. That kind of started it. After a while I started to feel sorry for myself and then I was crying about nothing. The weather outside is beautiful, but I can't muster up the energy to even get dressed today. I don't want to do anything, go anywhere or let anyone see me. I have nothing to wear, my shirts are all stained, I'm fat, I'm frumpy and on and on and on, the voice of Depression goes.

So I take pain relievers for the headache, then cry and make it worse. I tried to sleep, but one of the things Depression brings when it visits is insomnia. So I am more and more tired, and more and more depressed. As a result the demon grows stronger. It's a vicious cycle.

I sent my family off this evening, to an information meeting for a trip abroad that my daughter has a chance to take. I was excited about it, but today I can't dredge up the energy to go. I can't even make myself get dressed and go pick up my prescription at the pharmacy, telling myself that I can take one of my "spare" pills tonight and go get the refill tomorrow. So here I sit, thinking, crying.

Maybe it's good that I only had today off. Tomorrow I will have to get out of bed, get cleaned up, get dressed and go to work. There will be no debate with myself on what to wear, I'll throw on my black pants and my blue shirt, just like I do every day for work. I won't have time to sit and think and listen to the demon whisper in my ear. And for awhile it will go away. Maybe tomorrow will be a good day and it will go away for a good long time again. Or maybe it won't.

If that happens, I will know it's time to talk to my doctor again. Time to think about going on meds again. If that's what it takes to get me sleeping again, and on an even keel, then that's what I'll do.

What's the capital of Ohio?

2011-09-27T11:52:00.001-06:00

Just watched the season premiere of Glee. Ok, watched is a bit of a stretch. Fast forwarded, more like. Hmmm. Glad to see more of Blaine, hope it doesn't become the Blaine show. Loved Quinn's new look, can she move along now? Glad to see Rachel taken down a notch, or two or ten. Still adore Kurt.

So far, Fall tv just isn't really doing much for me.

There's America's Next Top Model, re-run edition. Didn't like most of the women on there before, why should I care about them now??

Then there's Project Runway. Or as I now like to call it, Project Extra Sleep. Boooooooring. There's not a single person on there that I am rooting for this season, most of them I just want to see go home! Thank goodness for DVR, since I can fast forward to the end, see the finished product and listen to the scathing criticisms, lol.

As a result of lousy TV and a lack of books, I have gotten some knitting done. One of the ugliest socks I've ever seen, and by the end of today I shall have another square for the Crazy Quilt completed. The sock was done in a yarn I wish I had never bought. Full of different lengths knotted together, and really much better looking in the skein than knit up. And the second skein for the second sock is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more red than the first.

But the square is fun, it's got little bits of glitter in :) Probably why it knit up so fast, since I love it, lol.

Edited to add: Argh. I'll say it again, can Quinn just move along now? I find this storyline personally disturbing and sad. the Quinn-witch is a selfish, spoilt brat and only thinking of herself, not of her child. We have enough me, me, me! with Rachel & Santana. Move along, nothing to see here....

Speaking of Rachel. Really? Like Finn doesn't have enough issues without her trying to plan his life for him, just so she can be happy?

*Sigh* I will keep DVRing it, but I'm not much liking anything to do with the main characters, though I love the fact that there's more Beiste and the fact that Puck really seems to want to be part of his daughter's life. Though again, I would like to see him do the right thing and tell Shelby what the Quinn-witch is cooking up.

Celebrate the fREADom to Read.

2011-09-24T09:35:00.002-06:00

Top 100 Challenged/Banned Books 2000-2009
1. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
2. Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
4. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
5. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
7. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
8. His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
9. ttyl; ttfn; l8r g8r (series), by Myracle, Lauren
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
11. Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
12. It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
13. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
14. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
15. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
16. Forever, by Judy Blume
17. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
18. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
19. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
20. King and King, by Linda de Haan
21. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
22. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
23. The Giver, by Lois Lowry
24. In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
25. Killing Mr. Griffen, by Lois Duncan
26. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
27. My Brother Sam Is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier
28. Bridge To Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
29. The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline B. Cooney
30. We All Fall Down, by Robert Cormier
31. What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
32. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
33. Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson
34. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
35. Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison
36. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
37. It’s So Amazing, by Robie Harris
38. Arming America, by Michael Bellasiles
39. Kaffir Boy, by Mark Mathabane
40. Life is Funny, by E.R. Frank
41. Whale Talk, by Chris Crutcher
42. The Fighting Ground, by Avi
43. Blubber, by Judy Blume
44. Athletic Shorts, by Chris Crutcher
45. Crazy Lady, by Jane Leslie Conly
46. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
47. The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby, by George Beard
48. Rainbow Boys, by Alex Sanchez
49. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey
50. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
51. Daughters of Eve, by Lois Duncan
52. The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson
53. You Hear Me?, by Betsy Franco
54. The Facts Speak for Themselves, by Brock Cole
55. Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Green
56. When Dad Killed Mom, by Julius Lester
57. Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause
58. Fat Kid Rules the World, by K.L. Going
59. Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes
60. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
61. Draw Me A Star, by Eric Carle
62. The Stupids (series), by Harry Allard
63. The Terrorist, by Caroline B. Cooney
64. Mick Harte Was Here, by Barbara Park
65. The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien
66. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor
67. A Time to Kill, by John Grisham
68. Always Running, by Luis Rodriguez
69. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
70. Harris and Me, by Gary Paulsen
71. Junie B. Jones (series), by Barbara Park
72. Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
73. What’s Happening to My Body Book, by Lynda Madaras
74. The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
75. Anastasia (series), by Lois Lowry
76. A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving
77. Crazy: A Novel, by Benjamin Lebert
78. The Joy of Gay Sex, by Dr. Charles Silverstein
79. The Upstairs Room, by Johanna Reiss
80. A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck
81. Black Boy, by Richard Wright
82. Deal With It!, by Esther Drill
83. Detour for Emmy, by Marilyn Reynolds
84. So Far From the Bamboo Grove, by Yoko Watkins
85. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, by Chris Crutcher
86. Cut, by Patricia McCormick
87. Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume
88. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
89. Friday Night Lights, by H.G. Bissenger
90. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle
91. Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George
92. The Boy Who Lost His Face, by Louis Sachar
93. Bumps in the Night, by Harry Allard
94. Goosebumps (series), by R.L. Stine
95. Shade’s Children, by Garth Nix
96. Grendel, by John Gardner
97. The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende
98. I Saw Esau, by Iona Opte
99. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume
100. America: A Novel, by E.R. Frank

Celebrate your Freadom to Read and Read a Challenged/Banned Book!

2011-09-10T13:37:00.002-06:00

The World Trade Center

The Pentagon

United Flight 93

2,997 dead

Never Forget

Freddie

2011-09-05T11:58:00.000-06:00

Happy birthday Freddie. You left us way too soon.

Watching the best live performance of all time, Queen at Live Aid in '85.

I remember being glued to the MTV, watching the historical event. I look back at it now and think how f-ing lucky those people were in the crowd, to be part of something that big. Something that will never ever happen again. Of course, I was glued to it for Duran Duran, lol. But you just couldn't help seeing that Queen and Freddie were something special.

So...

2011-09-04T18:22:00.000-06:00

Not much has changed since I last posted. We're even having Cornish Pasties for dinner again tonight ;)

I've finished 4 squares for the crazy quilt, and I've another sock on the needles now. last few squares have been very pastel, and I felt the need for bright. So now I am knitting up my bright orange and red Bonkers yarn. And it's fitting, since what better way to celebrate autumn than to knit autumn colors?

Yes, fall is finally here. At least for the last two days. We've been in the mid-70s and I love it! Windows are wide open, all except for the dinner hour, and then once the house has cooled back down after dinner the windows open again. Wonderful!

We've had one rather significant change. The kiddo started junior high a few weeks ago (Ack! My baby!). And with that comes trumpet lessons. So we have a sick goose in the living room at the moment. But she loves it, so I guess my ears will recover ;)

And since Blogger decided to eat the rest of my post I'm going to stop here. I've got a heel to turn. See y'all in a month, lol.

Random bits

2011-08-07T12:22:00.000-06:00

Cornish Pasties for dinner tonight, yum!

County Fair this evening when it cools down a bit. Swimming pool in a bit.

My blanket square is coming along slowly, mainly because I've had my nose in a book more regularly. I found a series of tattoo shop mysteries (because there's a series for EVERYTHING now, lol) and I've been reading them, and a few other odds and ends.

So, books I've recently read:

-The new Sookie Stackhouse book, Dead Reckoning. My reaction to it was just, "Meh." Didn't love it, didn't hate it.

-The new Queen Betsey book, Undead and Undermined. I have to say, I'm not enjoying them as much anymore. Betsey is just annoying and self centered and frankly, there's not much happening with the series, it seems stagnant. Betsey disappears, then has sex with Sinclair. Betsey fights with her sister, has sex with Sinclair.

Donna Andrews's new book, The Real Macaw was as enjoyable as always. The characters are fun and quirky and we finally get to find out what sex the new babies are :)

Cricket McRae's crafting mysteries, with Wined and Died most recently released. Cricket is actually a local author so I found her in a local display at the library. I've enjoyed all 5 books in the series.

And surprisingly, I like the latest Anita Blake book from Laurell K Hamilton, though I'm not sure where we go from here. Maybe back to Anita helping solve crimes? I'd like to see Edward toughen up a bit again too, that was the one thing I didn't care for, Edward just can't go soft lol.

Old favorites that I can't read any more:
Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christine Feehan (funny I used to love this series, but I went back and re-read one and just thought, "What was I thinking??"

My Amazon wish list is looking pretty thin again, since I use it to remind me of books I want to read and now I've read most of them. Time to make a trip the the bookstore to scope out new releases lol.

What is it about summer

2011-08-01T12:21:00.001-06:00

that makes me nostalgic for certain foods? Maybe it's because summer is block party and picnic season, so it was the only time we ever had them. But things like carrot cake, Pineapple Upside Down cake and of course my grandma's bars have been at the forefront of my mind for a while now. Carrot cake was easy to solve, I bought a single piece at the grocery store bakery. Yum!

The Pineapple Upside Down cake seemed an easy solution too, as Safeway sells slices. But it wasn't quite what I remembered from my childhood. Maybe because it was white cake, not yellow?

And of course Grandma's bars. I made them. I didn't cook the sugar mixture long enough, and I didn't put enough lemon juice in the frosting, so they were close, but not quite... I will try them again sometime.

Now there's a Pineapple Upside Down cake in my oven, Betty Crocker's recipe, which means it's probably exactly what my mom made when I was a kid, lol.

Now I just need some of my mom's potato salad and the cheese olive puffs ;)

Not sure how Pineapple Upside Down cake is going to go with our dinner of Chicken Korma, but oh well. Tomorrow is pulled pork sandwiches, it will go just fine with that.

Edited to add: The cake turned out perfectly, G loves it, though I haven't been able to get Isabel to try it due to the pineapple. Maybe tomorrow. Picky bugger, lol.

The pork is in the crock pot. Real simple, chop one onion, throw it in. Add pork roast, season with pepper and garlic power. I add a cup of apple juice for moisture and then 3/4 c of bbq sauce. Several hours on low and the pork will be so tender it will easily pull apart. I like to toast my hamburger bun before I put the pork on it. It reheats well, too.

Next up on the list of things we haven't had for awhile and must have soon: Cornish Pasties. Yum!

Trail Ridge Road

2011-07-30T21:50:00.004-06:00

The family and I went up and over Trail Ridge today, the first time I've been there in years. It was absolutely gorgeous. With the well above average snow pack melting slowly up in the high country and the rain we were getting every afternoon, the wild flowers are just gorgeous. I can't remember ever seeing that many wild flowers, certainly not this late in summer. Even the alpine tundra was covered in little white and yellow flowers.

And the weather was just gorgeous as well. While Loveland hit 97 today, it was a nice 58 degrees at the Alpine Visitor Center. We drove along with the sunroof open and the windows down.

We spent some time walking around in Grand Lake and then on the way out of town saw tons of people standing on the side of the road. We pulled over and crossed the road to see two huge bull moose. The biggest one wouldn't take his head out of the greenery he was eating, but you could see he was a big boy with an enormous rack of antlers. The other bull was farther away, but he was out in the open and even gave me a nice profile shot or two.

bull moose (click image to see full size),
originally uploaded by zukeeper.geo.

It was absolutely amazing to see them that close to town, that close to the road. the bigger of the two was literally a few yards away. Which was actually a bit scary, since moose can be quite dangerous, but these guys were too busy munching to care about anyone else, and the crowd was actually being pretty respectful and keeping their distance.

The saddest thing about today was seeing just how much devastation the pine beetle has wrought in Colorado. I noticed a ton of beetle killed trees on our side of the mountain, a lot of them new enough to still have the rusty needles. But the Western slope has just been decimated by beetle. There were swathes of trees that there were way more dead trees than live. And all along the roadway there were huge slash piles of killed trees that the park service has cut down. For the Park Service to cut and haul trees, there has to be a major issue, since the usual policy is to let nature take its course. It's such a huge problem that all they can do is remove trees that could be a danger in high use areas.

It's estimated that withing a few year's time ALL of the Lodgepole pines in Colorado will have been killed by the beetle epidemic. So for those who say Global Warming isn't an issue, come look at my mountains. Beetle only die off at temps lower than 40 below zero. Colorado hasn't gotten that cold in about 10 years, thanks to global warming. :(

My crazy quilt so far

2011-07-26T09:56:00.002-06:00

all three,
originally uploaded by zukeeper.geo.

The squares are actually quite quick to knit. Well, when I don't have a smashed middle finger anyway. Amazing how much that finger just gets in the damned way.

Two nights ago it got in the way of my sliding glass door as I went to shut it. Wouldn't be surprised if my mother heard me swearing all the way in Iowa, lol. Goodness knows, I swore long and loud, along with some crying and whimpering. Yep, I am a baby. Poor G was trying to help by making me stick my finger under cold water but anything touching it just made it throb worse, so of course that made me whinge more. I wouldn't even look at my finger for ages, I was convinced that if it hurt that badly I must have lost part of it, lol,

Today it's still swollen and sore, so I managed only one round on the light blue square. Waiting to see if the nail goes black and falls off. Ick!

Crazy Quilt

2011-07-21T20:49:00.001-06:00

I'm cruising right along on my crazy quilt squares, two down and number 3 on the needles. I'm going to run out of yarn before I run out of love for this project. I just love the squares, with it's itty bitty hole in the center from where you start knitting in the "square" ;) they have a bit of a lacey look, and I can't wait to have enough to start putting some together. Lucky for me and my marriage, JoAnn's carries some decently priced sock yarns now so I can occasionally buy yarn just for my blanket.

Miche

2011-07-17T17:14:00.015-06:00

Deniece,
originally uploaded by zukeeper.geo.

Went to a lovely Miche party this afternoon and was very naughty. I bought two shells, Deniece, which is denim and "ostrich" skin, and Hope, which is their newest cancer awareness shell.

I swear, I only went with the intention of buying the Deniece, but then I saw the Hope shell and all good intentions went to Hell, lol. If you don't know what Miche is, you really need to go look at their website.

Miche is a bag system where you buy a plain base bag, and then you can change the look of it by changing the shell. It means you can change you bag's look to match your outfit, instead of changing everything over to a new bag! AWESOMENESS!

I do love my interchangeable accessories, lol.

Hope,
originally uploaded by zukeeper.geo.

Memories

2011-07-07T21:50:00.000-06:00

I was reading a book the other day and the protagonist served olive cheese puffs and I flashed back to my Grandma Penny's kitchen when I was probably 7 or 8, and eating olive cheese puffs hot out of the oven.

So I emailed my mom asking if she had that recipe. She of course doesn't remember anything like it, lol. And didn't find any recipe for it in her recipe box. Good news is, I did find what I think is most likely the recipe. I think I shall have to try it out and see if it is as good as I remember or if it's just good memories coloring it.

There are a few of my Grandma's recipes that I think about making. As a kid she had a desert bar recipe that was always my favorite desert. My mom didn't make it often but when she did, I was in heaven. I keep thinking I should make them, but then I think if my daughter knew what was in them, she wouldn't touch them, and I know my husband wouldn't lol. Kind of a strange desert, coconut, graham crackers, brown sugar with a slightly lemony frosting. Damn. I want them now, lol. I wonder where my recipe box is...

Because it's that time of the year again ;)

2011-06-29T09:33:00.003-06:00

I have to post it. Click Read More to see my favorite birthday scene, lol.

Honestly!

2011-06-21T10:17:00.000-06:00

If you look at all the stuff out there about food and food borne illness, you'd never eat again! I've been trying to lay off the prepackaged frozen dinners for lunch and instead eat sliced turkey, tomatoes, lettuce and fruit. Strawberries made the most contaminated list, from pesticides, and now cold cuts and lettuce are on the list of dirtiest foods.

Frankly, I am getting tired of all these scare-people-to-death articles. Everyone is too worried about everything,and the media just makes it worse.

I rode around in a car as a kid without a seat belt (Not that I advocate not wearing a seat belt, I had a friend get thrown from a vehicle because he wasn't wearing his seat belt and get crushed to death. A seat belt would likely have saved his life. I ALWAYS wear my seat belt now and insist that everyone in my vehicle do so or my vehicle doesn't move. But I digress...)

I survived riding my bike without a helmet. (But yes, I make my kiddo wear hers, why take chances, lol)

I survived a game of tag on the playground, along with the swings and everything else. That schools are taking away swing sets on the playgrounds and not allowing kids to play tag, not allowing kids to be kids, that's just sick and wrong.

I survived unwashed fruits and veggies as a kid, (in the time of DDT even!) and under cooked meats. My father used to mix up the hamburger patties and then eat bits RAW for crying out loud.

We didn't have anti-bacterial soap. And you know what? We didn't die! Our bodies made antibodies.

But most important, we went to the doctor and we got our immunizations. And polio, measles and mumps went the way of the dinosaur. Until recently, when the scare-em-to-death reports started linking (erroneously, as it has now been proven that the studies were falsified!) immunizations to autism. Or parents got complacent. I have a co-worker who insists her kid doesn't need immunizations because when was the last time someone got the chicken pox?? And he's only around his cousins, not other people so he's not exposed to anything. Ummm. You leave the house, right? Yeah, you are super over-protective of your kid in every other way, but you can't protect him from germs...

Sigh. Stepping down from my soapbox and going to go get ready for work.

No new picture but...

2011-06-20T07:19:00.000-06:00

My first square is coming along nicely, I'm about 16 rows from calling it done. I mentioned to my daughter that I only had "70 more squares to go" and I thought my hubby was going to have a heart attack! The idea of me knitting 70 more pairs of socks just about sent him over the edge, lol. But 70 was a bit of an exaggeration, as there are only 36 squares. Still, the idea of that many more pairs of socks is a bit much for him to handle. But I think I can get 2 squares per remainder ball, and I have 3 pairs of socks completed, one on the go and another sock kit ready to go whenever. So that could be 10 squares right there ;) Only 13 more to go after that, lol.

And I already know which yarn I would like next, well, which yarns I would like next as I love several Blue Moon colorways ;) Pepe le Plume, Puck's Mischief, & the Incredible Shrinking Violet to start! Apparently, I am into purples now ;)

Barn Raising Project

2011-06-18T16:55:00.000-06:00

Started my first square this morning. This could be a fairly quick project if I actually had more yarn, lol. The square pattern is easy and quick (once I got used to fumbling around with 5 needles and 12 stitches!)

Wonderfully woolly!

2011-06-11T22:35:00.000-06:00

We went up to Estes today for the Wool Market. This year the weather was most cooperative and it was not too hot, not too cold and definitely no rain or snow! The kiddo and I had fun walking through the vendor barn (or the Yarn Barn, as I like to call it). I bought a lovely sock kit with hand dyed yarn, and nearly bought another ball of sock yarn, but they didn't take plastic. It was a booth for a large somewhat local store though, so the kiddo and I will likely be taking a trip to Shuttles, Spindles & Skeins soon ;)

The lamb booth didn't have any ground lamb this year, so that was a disappointment, but the cinnamon almond vendor was there as always, this year I bought the biggest bag he had (the kiddo ate all of my small bag on the way home last year! I was livid, my once a year treat, gone, waaaaaaaaaaaaa. Not this year, lol).

There weren't nearly the number of llamas and alpacas this year as there have been previous years, due to the equine herpes outbreak we had late last month.

But we did meet some famous names!

For instance, here we have Barak O. Llama!

And we can't forget country sensation Toby Keith! Well, the goat version anyway! And he certainly lives in the country ;)

Sock Yarn and stuff

2011-06-10T21:37:00.000-06:00

I prefer shorter ankle socks to regular calf length, which means when I knit, I have extra yarn leftover. So I was wandering around the web and I found a blanket that is made from sock yarn. So I think I am going to take my extra yarn and start knitting squares for the Barn-Raising Quilt. If anyone feels like donating left over yarn give me a shout ;)

But first, tomorrow is our day at the Estes Park Wool Market, woot! Looking forward to the yarn barn. Last year I actually managed to get out without buying anything but some ground lamb, but this year... I do want to wander around downtown Estes too, it's been years since I've walked along Elkhorn! (We moved from Estes over 11 years ago, and I'm pretty sure it had been a few years before that!)

Then on Sunday I'm going bowling with the gang from work. It will be interesting to see how things sort themselves out between the children... Sadly, there's one kid going that no one really wants around, though she has latched on to another co-worker, convinced T's her new BFF, when really T just wants her to shut up, just like everyone else. I soooo hope she finds a new job soon, because I think once she goes, a lot of the childish behavior goes with her and morale will go back up.

Back to Junior High

2011-06-08T06:59:00.001-06:00

*Sigh* For months now I have felt like I'm in high school again, thanks to all the bickering at work. We have a group of kids that just cannot get along. All of them are legally adults, but none of them are grown up!

So let me share with you my rules for the workplace:
1. Never, EVER, date someone you work with.
2. Never, EVER, date someone you work with, who is involved with someone else you work with!
3. You may not like someone, but guess what? You frequently have to work with people you don't like. Pull up your big girl (or boy) panties and deal with it like the adult you are supposed to be.
4. Leave me out of it. I don't want to get caught in the middle when you complain about each other. I'm old enough to be your mother, but I don't want to be. I'm not your BFF either. Nor am I your confessional.

Just... Stuff

2011-06-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a gorgeous day. By noon it was 85 and I decided it was time to hit the pool. We spent a few hours over there and then the sun got to be to much for me and we came home, changed and ran to the grocery store for a few odds and ends that I had missed on Friday. After that the heat and sun had me pooped, so I took a nap, lol.

I read for a while yesterday evening. I'm back in that rut where it doesn't seem to matter what I grab, it just doesn't hold my interest. I've been reading the Grace and Favor mysteries by Jill Churchill. Good books, I just can't seem to settle.

And I got the "last" book in the Clan of the Cave Bear series. I'd always thought Shelters of Stone was the last. And frankly, maybe it should have been (actually, Plains of Passage should have been the last, 'cause the 12 years we waited for SoS weren't worth it!). From what I have managed to read so far, Ayla is the biggest MarySue evah! And it's making me crazy. I'm not sure if I can make it to the end of this one...

Beautiful morning

2011-06-03T09:41:00.001-06:00

I love spring mornings! Nice and cool, but comfortable. They are the best time to sit outside on my deck and listen to the birds and frogs sing. The pelicans are just starting to move around on the lake, searching for breakfast. Soon there will be babies in the osprey nest to watch as well. The sound of the redwing blackbird's call brings back so many childhood memories, good times spent at the pool while the parents played golf.

If I could drag my preteen out of bed I'd make her go with for a walk around the lake. I'm thinking I need to ban her current book of choice from the bedroom at night because I am pretty sure she is staying up to read. Yes, it's summer and there's no school, but she was awake at midnight when her dad came home for "lunch" the other night and when I woke up at 2:45 am that night I noticed a light on and found her wide awake and reading. No wonder she doesn't want to get out of bed at 9:30 am! Unfortunately for her, today is my day off, which means it's errand day. First stop, the bra shop, since my favorite (most comfortable) bra got eaten in the washing machine last night!

And now for something completely different...

The Estes Wool Market is only a week away! Yay!!!!

Minding my own business

2011-06-01T06:49:00.002-06:00

I was walking up the sidewalk to the house, just minding my own business, and kind of spacing out after a long first day back from vacation. As I am walking my brain kind of registers that something is different about the sidewalk, so I stopped to take a look. There, just a few feet in front of me, was the biggest damned snake I've seen outside of a zoo!

Needless to say, I took a few quick steps back. The snake was stretched out across the sidewalk and not moving. No rattle, so I knew it was probably just a rat snake or something (the only venomous snakes we have in Colorado are rattlers), but I still wasn't getting any closer to it.

I pulled out my cell phone and called my hubby, just in case they should look out the door and wonder why the hell I was just standing outside, lol. By that point the snake was slowly moving off the path in to the rocks and shrubbery. Conveniently, hubby could see the thing from upstairs, so he told me I could walk past it without upsetting it. Now the kiddo was standing on the deck, and they were both watching it while I quickly scooted past it.

That will teach me to zone out on my way home! Poor snake, I almost stepped on you! Poor me, nearly had a heart attack when I realized it *grin*

Vacation!

2011-05-27T13:39:00.002-06:00

We spent the first part of the week in Iowa with my mother. Mostly a good trip, though we had one night of terrible weather which brought back my storm phobia with a vengeance! Part of the problem is that they now sound the sirens for any severe weather, not just tornadoes. To me that is crazy! It's going to send folks back to the 70s when they sounded the sirens for tornado watches and people stopped taking them seriously. Sirens are going off and I am freaking out in the basement while my mom is puttering in the kitchen, totally unconcerned. According to the weather folks, they sound the sirens to warn people out of doors to seek shelter. After that it is up to the person to listen to a weather radio or watch TV to determine how severe the storm is! Great until you lose TV because of the weather and have no clue....

I'm sorry, but when I was a kid the sirens went off as a warning of an imminent tornado and to take cover immediately, not as a notice to turn on your bloody TV and check the weather.

Anyhoo.... Other than that night, the weather cooperated and we had a lovely time. We drove up the river and ALL THE WAY TO DAVENPORT (several times even!).

But I have to say I am happy to be home. Not sure I could live in the midwest anymore. The temp is the same here today as it in Bettendorf, and yet here it feels wonderfully comfortable. In Bettendorf it was muggy :( Blech. 7% humidity versus 70% humidity, we win, lol.

I don't go back to work until Tuesday. So today we bought some flowers and planted them for the patio. We also planted the starter plants my mom sent back with us. Wish I knew what the heck they are. They have narrow dark green waxy leaves and lovely clusters of small pink waxy flowers, if that rings a bell with anyone please let me know ;)

Over for another year

2011-05-16T06:56:00.002-06:00

Whew. I managed to survive the daughter's birthday party! I think a good time was had by all the girls. We had pizza and soda, and ice cream cake for dessert, which sent the girls in to a sugar frenzy, lol. Then we tie dyed t-shirts. Unfortunately the weather was naf, so we had to do it in the bathroom. It mostly went ok, though it took me 20 minutes and a lot of Comet with bleach to clean out the bath tub.

After that they "settled down" to watch a movie, which apparently bored them, because they never did really settle down, lol. After the movie they wandered off to DD's bedroom to play really old Sega video games until the Party Pooper (that's me) stepped in and made them turn off the TV and video games and settle down (we live in a condo with neighbors below and next door, 11 PM is plenty late for shrieking with laughter, lol).

At that point I have no idea what they did because I went to bed. I had the alarm set so I could get up and make everyone breakfast before they went home, but Hubby decided that I needed to get up at 7:15. He came in and kissed me awake (which was nice) and informed me that, "The girls are hungry." Umm, really? You don't know where the pancake mix is?? *Sigh*

Then, since I go on vacation Friday!!!! I had to go to work. So I ran and took a shower, got ready for work, parents picked up there children and off to work (and quiet! Lol) I went.

I'm exhausted and it's only Monday, lol. I think Friday I will let DD set her alarm and get herself ready for school 'til the Hubby gets home and can ride herd. I'll sleep in ;) (Since the next morning I want to be on the road by 6 am!). We're off to Iowa to visit my mom. Hubby got screwed over schedule-wise so he won't be going with us. Though he secretly (or not so secretly!) might not consider that a terrible thing, lol, he is pissed at his employers.

And of course, being us with our luck, it's going to rain the entire bloody time we are in Iowa. Sheesh!

Since I'm in a craptastic mood

2011-05-14T10:33:00.001-06:00

I'll put up one of my favorite commercials of all time. Still makes me laugh

Loverly weekend!

2011-05-09T10:28:00.002-06:00

I was lucky enough to have Saturday off, since it was inventory day and I thought I was going to have to work it. The kiddo and I got our errands done and I sneaked off to one of my favorite stores to get myself a little Mother's Day pressie, new inserts for my Magnabilities pendant. Marci has such neat things in that store! I've fallen in love with the Miche bags, I just love the whole concept of the interchangeable things! Though Hubby has already informed me that if I spend $100 on a purse he'll bean me, lol.

M and I also plotted birthday secrets for the kiddo, so that was fun ;)

On Sunday we ran one last errand and I let the kiddo pick out a box of puzzles for her birthday, then we went home and filled the new bird feeder (they've found it already, greedy little birds, lol). Then I looked at the outdoor thermometer and decided if we were going to go for a walk we'd better do it before the temp climbed any higher.

So we went for a nice ramble around the lake. Along the way we met Ruby, a bloodhound who had wandered away from her owner and of course the kiddo called her over to us. While we petted her and kept her distracted her owner finally caught up, lol.

But it was bloody warm. And I looked in the mirror this morning and the back of my neck is sunburned!

Well, enough rambling from me. I have to interview a few people for a job opening we have, not looking forward to it, since I've never had to before, lol. Better get moving!

Budget

2011-04-30T20:25:00.004-06:00

Looking at my previous post, you probably think we don't have one. And technically you'd be right. We don't have a set budget, but we know what we can spend and we try not to go overboard, mostly.

Cable/internet. We changed providers because the cost was out of hand, and while I actually think we are getting more for our money, we are still paying more than we thought we would be paying. But TV and internet will never be cut to save money in our home. We have pretty much given up gaming, but we are still internet addicts. And with hubby working nights and therefore having nights off work with not a helluva lot to do, we need the 'net & cable.

Clothing. I just bought several new t-shirts and a couple pairs of capris for the summer. They were all on sale and I got a good deal on something I really needed. The kiddo got a new outfit and a new shirt today, from the local kid's clothing re-saler. Everything is in beautiful condition and we didn't pay much for it, yay.

Workwise, I need to replace my work pants. I have worn the same two pairs of black pants 5 days a week/ 8 hours a day, for almost 3 years. And I bought them on sale for $20 each. Replacing them for that price is going to be tough, lol.

Groceries. I have discovered that in most cases, generics are just as good, if not better than name brand products. I used to only buy one brand of mayo, for instance. Guess what? Mayo is mayo. Walmart's bread is just as good as the name brand, Sam's Club's laundry detergent is as good as Tide. Peanut butter, fruit snacks, applesauce, oatmeal (I actually like the Great Value oatmeal better than the leading brand name!) they're all just fine in generic form. There are a few things that are exceptions to the rule. I only use one brand of toilet paper (though we did switch to generic grudgingly when we were broke), and Ritz crackers are just better than the generic version (you don't save any money when you throw something away because it's inedible, lol).

Eating out. Ugh. This is where we take a serious hit. I come home for lunch every day, so I don't eat lunch out and hubby has lunch in the middle of the night when everything is closed. It's after work that I am really bad. It's so much easier to swing through a drive thru on the way home then to come home and scrounge something up for just me. (Kiddo is a picky eater so I rarely cook anything but breakfast for us both and hubby doesn't want dinner when he's only just gotten up for the day!). I have been trying to cut back, but...

We do avoid coffee out for the most part. We have our own espresso maker, so we buy flavored syrups and make our own flavored lattes. Yum! Our espresso maker has paid for itself numerous times.

Entertainment. Aside from TV/internet, our main entertainment is reading. We go to the library at least once a week. Thank goodness for the library, because the kiddo and I are both voracious readers! We're dumping our WoW accounts as soon as they are up this time, I get my game fix through the free games on Facebook and the kiddo loves the free kids sites like PBSkids.org and Club Penguin. We don't spend a lot on movies or anything like that. In fact, I am pretty sure the last movie I saw in the theater was Finding Nemo!

And now as the weather improves, I really would like to start spending more time outside. The complex pool opens at the end of May too, so that will be awesome.

My main expenditure for entertainment is for my knitting, and frankly I am pretty restrained in my purchases, not to mention slow in my knitting ;)

Too much!

2011-04-22T10:37:00.003-06:00

Ok, not really tooooo much. But a lot! We got a "new" (new to us anyway!) car last night. It's hubby's new toy, or at least I let him think it is, really it's MINE, but I might share ;) I will admit it is absolutely sexy and I am totally looking forward to driving around town in it. It's a 2008 BMW, black with black interiors. Yum!

And tomorrow I get to get my haircut at the same place DD went a few weeks ago. My turn to be pampered! Even more yum!

Anyway, I'm going to go drive my new car now, ciao! Or should I say Auf Wiedersehen!

Awesome Sunday

2011-04-11T09:31:00.007-06:00

Yesterday was a great Girls' Day Out.

The Pink Princess before her haircut,

The kiddo and I went and got her hair cut, where she was pampered and treated like a rock star *grin* Warm oil massaged into her scalp, then shampooed. She also had her hands dipped in paraffin. Then it was time for the actual hair cut. She went from not even wanting it trimmed to suddenly wanting it cut into an inverted bob! I would guess the stylist cut off at least 6 inches at the back. And oh did it want to curl up back there, haha.

After her haircut - side view

After the cut, she was allowed to pick out 5 strands of hair tinsel to be put in. Needless to say the Pink Princess picked 2 hot pink strands and one lighter pink strand. The last two were a bit of a surprise, she picked a bright blue and a purple one. I honestly think it was the lure of the tinsel that convinced her to get her hair cut, haha. (No, I'm not above bribery lol).

Seriously though, the stylist did an awesome job and made D.D. feel so special. I keep calling her my kiddo, but really she is right on the cusp of being a young woman, and that's what yesterday was all about. For anyone in my area, I can highly recommend 10 Salon & Spa! I want to go back and have my hair cut there now!

Afterwards we went for a nice ramble through the nearby sculpture park and then just went home and spent a quiet afternoon.

Oooo, pretty!

2011-04-09T09:28:00.004-06:00

Shibui Sock, Anime colorway

I saw this yarn last weekend and it just screamed SPRING! So I bought it. It is so bright and cheerful, yet so unlike anything I would normally buy, haha.

Those bright skeins shall become (hopefully) these socks. I wanted something more than plain jane socks, but the last lace socks I attempted pissed me off something fierce and I went back to simple socks. Hopefully I can handle the Emily pattern ;)

All done!

2011-03-20T12:37:00.002-06:00

Hmmm. Now what? All I have left on the needles are my mittens. I don't want to knit mittens when it's 70 outside!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaa.

So apparently

2011-03-17T21:14:00.003-06:00

I live under a rock. Because I'd never seen this before:

I laughed so hard I. My hubby and daughter were like, "what the heck??" So I had to show them, and I was still laughing. I literally was laughing so hard I couldn't talk, lol. There was just something about the mother panda's reaction that tickled me!

I'd never seen this video either, and it's one of the most watched videos on YouTube EVAH!

Sheesh, I gotta crawl outta my cave a little more often...

Snicker

2011-03-13T20:29:00.004-06:00

I totally take where I live for granted. But not in the way most of you are thinking I mean. For 10 years I lived in a small mountain town that rolled up the sidewalks at 11 PM in the summer and 8 PM in the winter. Groceries are much higher priced there than in stores down in "the valley" and forget the cost of gasoline! There is no Wal-mart, Target or K-mart. No running to the store in the middle of the night when you run out of diapers or formula or just want ice cream.

So on our days off, we would climb in the car and spend the day in the valley. It was a 45 minute drive down the canyon in good weather, on a winding mountain road. Back UP the canyon could take much longer, depending on the season. (Summer tourists + windy roads = slooooooow moving.

When we first moved to Colorado, the only discount store in the closest city was Kmart. If we wanted anything else we drove another 15- 20 minutes to the nearby college town that has everything.

For 4 years I commuted to that college, many semesters 5 days a week.

Even now that I live in the valley, I still drive to the next town over at least once a week, even though we now have much more than just a Kmart. For me, to drive 20 minutes to go to the library or grab dinner is nothing.

So when my mother (who sparked this whole post this afternoon on the phone, haha) says, "I took the printer back to the store. I had to go all the way to Davenport," I have to roll my eyes and laugh, because all the way to Davenport takes 10 minutes even if it's way the hell on the other end of town. And then I strolled over to Roggey's a few minutes ago (sorry Roggey, but really?? Hahaha.) and saw that she likened driving to JoAnn's in Davenport with driving to Montana I again rolled my eyes.

Because though my hometown may feel like a small town, it's a nice-sized city that shares two main streets with the next really good-sized city. And the area isn't called the Quad-Cities for nothing! My mom has never had to drive more than 10 minutes to get anywhere, to get anything, even in what she calls traffic (my cousin from Seattle is the one who rolls her eyes over that one, lol). Hell, I road my bike everywhere when I was a kid, to the library for books, the 5 and 10 for books (yes, there's a theme there...) and even out to the farm where my horse was pastured, because ain't anything far away there! ;)

So I guess I take where I live for granted. I know I have to drive 20 minutes to get my books at the library (to be fair, we do have a great library in town, but the nearby library has a free book delivery program that will get me just about any book I want from libraries all over the state, my local library does not) and yarn from my LYS (my really LYS closed, waaaa). I am still willing to drive 45 minutes to see my GYN in my old town, because he's awesome. Driving, even with these ridiculously high gas prices, just isn't a BFD (gas is still cheaper than supporting my book habit any other way and if I'm there for books, why not go a little farther and pet yarn?!).

On the other hand, I live 2 minutes from work, Target and JoAnn's and at least 10 restaurants, and only 5 minutes from Super Walmart and a mall with even more restaurants, so the rest of the time, I really don't drive far at all!

PS. On the foot of girly sock #2, woo hoo!

Girly Sock #1

2011-03-06T09:44:00.002-07:00

Complete! Time to cast on for sock #2. Woot!

Bits of this and that

2011-03-04T07:52:00.003-07:00

The kiddo is sick, which is no fun for her. I had to go pick her up from school Tuesday, but Wednesday she seemed fine. Then she developed a wicked cough. So home she stayed yesterday and today she will stay home as well, since she was up and down all night last night. Lucky for me, it was hubby's night off, so he was here and awake to take care of her.

Better news is that her sock a) fits and b) seems to be going well. I am past the gussets and have maybe an inch to go before I start the toe. Woo hoo!

My plan this weekend is to go buy some jump rings or toggle clasps and redo all my stitch markers. I made my own a few years back, but the loops of wire just get squished and frankly they are a bit bulky for sock knitting. So I want to get some small rings and only attach a few beads like this. I looked at buying some, there are some adorable ones out there, but most seem awfully large for sock knitting (Ring-wise. I need small rings, not rings that fit a size 10 needle, lol). And frankly, for the price I pay to buy and ship them, I can make a ton of my own! I already have beads, and the rings and head pins are pretty damned cheap. Although I may have to look at new beads anyway ;)

But ummm, my point is, I really need stitch markers :)~ I tend to ladder if I don't move my stitches around, so my stitches travel from one needle to the next, so I really need markers to let me know especially where the top of the foot is so I can knit in pattern. Plus, it will be nice to be able to stick the correct stitches back on the correct needles before I start decreasing for the toe!

Anyhoo, going to go knit for a bit before I go to work. Ciao!

The kiddo's socks

2011-02-27T21:27:00.003-07:00

I am working on the gussets on sock #1. It's going so well I am a little scared, lol. But I have my lifeline, so I think it's all ok for the moment ;) DD loves they way it is striping. Narrow stripes on the cuff, a bit thicker on the heel flap, even thicker as the heel turns and now back to narrow around the foot.

Done and Done!

2011-02-23T20:59:00.003-07:00

Update

2011-02-22T07:04:00.003-07:00

I've got about 2 inches to go before I start decreasing for the toes. I was derailed by work yesterday, didn't even get a chance for lunch, let alone a chance to knit. And today doesn't look any better, since we have bigwigs coming this afternoon.

Insomnia

2011-02-20T21:27:00.002-07:00

I have insomnia. So this article caught my attention, 5 foods that help you sleep: cherries, oatmeal, toast and warm milk (bananas is the last food, but I don't really care for bananas unless they are in daiquiri form or accompanying ice cream, lol).

Cherries have melatonin, which is something I take as a supplement regularly. That helps me get to sleep. But I wake up frequently through out the night. I am lucky in that I generally can get back to sleep in a short amount of time, but it's not really restful.

After my daughter was born, I took a sleep aid / anti-depressant. That was brilliant, because it helped on both fronts, it helped with my post-partum depression and it helped me sleep. When I couldn't sleep, it of course amplified the depression. I quit taking that when I lost my medical insurance and didn't feel the need to go back on it when I got new insurance. But I surely do miss the sleep aid part!

Turned the heel

2011-02-20T15:10:00.002-07:00

Whew! Got the heel done, after much angst. It's not like it's really all that difficult, I just can't count, lol. And idiot that I am, I said last night as I put my knitting away, that I needed to put in a new lifeline before I went any further. So what did I do this morning? Just started knitting and somehow managed to screw up the turning of the heel. My last lifeline was before the heel flap.

But the heel is turned, a new lifeline is set and I am on the home stretch!

Now if I could just get the kiddo to finish cleaning out her toy box. She only started 2 hours ago and now there are piles of junk all over my living room: keep, toss, donate. The toss and donate pile are much larger than the keep pile, which is good, but I want all the piles gone, lol.

My goal is

2011-02-19T13:45:00.002-07:00

to finish my second sock today. I have to. Because I slipped and landed in a pile of sock yarn at the LYS this morning. Only one skein demanded to come home with me, but it's soooooooooooo pretty (It's Lorna's Laces Girly Stripe Sock) and I keep hearing it call my name...

We won't mention the 10 year old girl that keeps petting it and giving me puppy dog looks, since this pair is for her ;)

Quiet day to myself

2011-02-14T08:35:00.002-07:00

I took today off, since it's our anniversary and lately I've been working close shifts on Mondays. I just didn't want to do that tonight!

So the kiddo is at school, the hubby is sleeping and I am enjoying the quiet. In a little bit I will go get showered and dressed and head out to Sam's and the grocery store. I need to pick up some things to make hubby a birthday cake. As usual he gets a chocolate raspberry cake with chocolate ganache topping instead of frosting. Yum! And soooo easy to make, if a bit messy because of the ganache, lol.

I guess I have dawdled long enough, since the coffee is gone and I've just spent the last 30 minutes surfing the web, lol. Chocolate cake lead to a search for the recipe to link to, that lead to the library, which went to Amazon next, then from there to the Signature needle site, lol.

Valentines

2011-02-12T19:38:00.002-07:00

Monday is a BIG day in our house. Valentine's Day always is around here. But this year is especially big, because it is our 20th wedding anniversary. (And hubby's birthday too, but who's counting those anymore, lol).

We don't have any big plans. Neither one of us cares for crowds and long waits on the day, so we go out on another night to celebrate. But we both arranged to have the day/night off work, so at least we can spend the time together :)

I love you, honey :)

Socks! (Again, lol)

2011-02-11T11:30:00.002-07:00

I am about to the toe decreases on Sock 1. Sock 2 has been cast on and the cuff will begin soon :) Yay!

Disappointment

2011-02-04T08:54:00.003-07:00

I think one of my favourite chain restaurants has changed their recipes whilst I wasn't looking. One night after we had just moved here I decided the restaurant was close and I wanted Italian Nachos. So I brought some home and settled down happily to eat them. Hmmm. They just weren't as good as I remembered them being.

And recently I decided I really, really wanted their Spicy Shrimp & Chicken and I didn't want to cook it (We got the recipe a few years ago from the guy who created it!). It's one of my favourite meals EVAH! And again I was disappointed. It didn't have the kick I remembered, and it was almost dry, way too little alfredo sauce.

Now maybe it's because we make our own, and we probably add a bit more spice than they do. Maybe I am just used to our version now. But I honestly think they changed their alfredo, and they certainly aren't as generous with it now as they used to be. I will give them this, there was quite a bit of shrimp and chicken in the meal, BUT we used to buy their family platter and have meals for two days. Like everyone else, they have cut back on their portions. That was a bit disappointing as well, because I had hoped to have leftovers for lunch the next day.

Ah well. Now I know. Just buy the ingredients and make it myself ;)

In happier news, I bought my mom a new HP printer yesterday. After the $50 trade in I got for my old printer, the $50 instant savings and the $83 Rewards check I had, it cost me the big $17 and I got free shipping directly to my mother. But the bestest thing: thanks to training with HP I'm going to get $100 rebate! So my mom is happy, and I am even happier, lol.

Anyhoo, better get moving and get ready for work. Ciao!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

2011-02-01T06:58:00.003-07:00

They canceled school today due to dangerously cold temps. It's -8 F by my thermometer with windchills down to about -20 to -30!

Can we cancel work too? Please? ;)

Ladies

2011-01-30T10:23:00.002-07:00

Do you wash your bras every time you wear them? Or do you wear them once or twice first? And how many bras do you own? My daughter just came to me and informed me she needs new bras.

First, she's 10, so she can get away with an undershirt, of which I know she has plenty. Second, she just got two bras for Christmas. Third, she's a couch potato when she's at home right now (though during the summer she's more active.)

I have 2 bras that are really comfy, and two others that I will wear if need be. In the summer I tend to wash them after every wearing, purely because it's summer, I work around machines that put out a lot of heat and I sweat. Yuck. But when it's cooler and I'm not as sweaty, I don't wash my bras every time I wear them. And I have heard so many different things about bra care. Some places say not to wash them every time you wear them (but never wear the same bra twice in a row, let it "relax" between wearings, lol) other places say wash every time. And they all say hand washing is best.

I say who the hell has time to hand wash undergarments every bloody day?? My two good bras go in the wash and hang dry. The other two go in the washer and dryer.

So how many bras do you have, and how do you care for them?

Socks!

2011-01-29T16:59:00.004-07:00

I put aside the mitten today, purely because the sock is much more portable. But the sock has changed. I abandoned the Monkey Sock and I'm now knitting a simple p1, k3 rib. When I get done with the leg I'll do the Harlot's heel and foot. The simple rib gives me a little more interest but it's easy enough it doesn't take all of my concentration ;) And honestly, if I stick with Monkey right now I will never finish another pair of socks, lol.

I'll have to get back to the mittens, but I'm just not up to dragging 5 balls of yarn around with me.

The kiddo took part in the local spelling bee today. Hence the need for something to knit, while waiting for her to do the written test. I started my own little knitting corner in the school library! One lady was knitting a teddy bear, another a scarf. While I was working on my sock two guys behind me were chatting. After a while one guys says to me, "After seeing you, I now have more appreciation for my socks." Lol. And as we filed out of the library to go find our kids and wait for them to check their written tests, a lady asks what I was knitting. I told her and she smiled and said, "That's so cool!" So I was cool for a little bit today, hahahaha.

The kiddo didn't make it to the oral round, but I'm pretty darned proud of her anyway!

Um....

2011-01-19T18:10:00.001-07:00

Yay, it's Wednesday! Only two more days to go 'til the weekend! Even if I have to get up super early Friday to take the kiddo to school so she can go on her class ski trip. I don't actually have to be to work 'til noon, so I think I will go home and go back to bed.

So. The mittens. Umm. Still pretty much part of one cuff, although I am almost to the end of the cuff. I just haven't been knitting much. Maybe I will knit on the mittens tonight, the cold just came back with a vengeance today and it was snowing again. I need some pretty mittens to keep my hands warm, lol.

I haven't let myself become distracted by a Baby Jiffy Knit Sweater yet though. Mostly because I am distracted by everything else. I have the attention span of a gnat these days...

Same old stuff,

2011-01-07T06:13:00.003-07:00

different year!

My goal this year is to actually finish my mittens. Preferably while I can still wear them.

But I keep getting distracted. The last several nights I've played WoW with the hubby, and now I am contemplating trying the Jiffy Knit Sweater again, and just adding some stitches and length so it will fit the not so Baby Tess :) Her daddy is a weasel and her momma is going through a rough time right now (thanks to said weasel) so she needs something new and pretty and hand knitted :)

Book-wise I am in a drought. There just isn't a lot that is on my wishlist right now. Apparently all of my favorite authors publish at the same time of the year! I do have a few books waiting at the library, a second series by a regular author that I've never read (still working my way through his first series!) and I am re-reading all of the In Death books by JD Robb (Nora Roberts).

Worst December in ages!

2010-12-23T06:48:00.002-07:00

Please don't let this be a precursor to the rest of this winter. I've already had two stomach bugs and a horrible cold that kicked my butt for nearly a week. Frankly, the last 24 hours have been utterly dismal, as I woke up around 2 AM yesterday, sick as a dog. I would start to feel a bit better after some sleep and then it would come roaring back. I called in sick yesterday, and until about 2 AM this morning I was thinking I might have to call in again. I absolutely HATE being physically sick like that.

Still feeling a bit off, but the worst of the symptoms have passed, so I had better go get in the shower and ready for work.

The goal

2010-12-20T06:55:00.003-07:00

Short term goals are good, lol. Maybe I can stick to this one... So the goal for this evening is to actually knit on my mitten for a bit. At least to finish the cuff.

And I really need to wrap some Christmas presents. The kiddo was sick yesterday with a tummy bug so she spent most of the day sleeping instead of the wrapping extravaganza we had planned. I also have cookie dough in the fridge that needs to be rolled, cut out and baked. But not tonight. Maybe Tuesday, since I have it as my extra day off and there was no way in hell I was volunteering to work the extra day. Working 5 days and getting paid for 6 is all well and good, but not this week, lol.

It's... Wednesday?

2010-12-15T06:05:00.003-07:00

I'm so lost. Being sick has absolutely messed with my head, in more ways than one! I worked a half day Monday, took yesterday off as a last ditch effort to feel better. It seems to have worked, as by the end of the day yesterday I was feeling waaaaaaaaaaaay better. And this morning I hardly coughed at all, yay!

But I am finding it very hard to put anything in my stomach in the morning right now, which is odd for me. Normally I wake up a tiny bit queasy and have to eat something or at least drink something to settle my tummy. And this will comeback to haunt me later in the day when I am starving at 11 AM! Or worse, have a caffeine headache later because even coffee doesn't sound good. The last time coffee didn't sound good was over 10 years ago and I was pregnant, lol. But we can safely rule that out this time around!

I guess I will make more coffee and... ACK!! I left my travel cup at work last week! I have an extra, but it has no lid!

And OMG! I just looked at my work schedule and realized that Christmas is NEXT WEEK! Ummmm. Crap. So much for getting my mom's calendar done and shipped. I guess I had better take her necklace with me to work today and send it UPS so she will at least have that. Calendar as birthday present in January? Lol.

Sick

2010-12-12T11:45:00.003-07:00

I actually called in sick twice last week (the first time in over 10 years!), so you know I felt lousy. I thought I was feeling better and ready to go back to work Monday, but I woke up at 5 AM this morning, coughing my head off. I literally coughed for two hours straight. Finally around 7:30 AM I managed to doze off again, but the annoying tickle is still there and I still feel the need to cough. It's making me absolutely crazy!

I haven't knit a stitch since I got sick, just been snuggled in bed sleeping or reading a book.

Beginning

2010-12-06T17:42:00.002-07:00

I've managed the first 4 rows, lol. Now they want me to add a third color and my mind boggled at the thought of yet another strand of yarn to untangle every few minutes. So I put it down for the night. And well, tonight is a World of Warcraft night, since the expansion goes live at midnight tonight ;) Although, it's still early enough, I may just get another 5 rows done.

It's here!

2010-12-04T15:48:00.003-07:00

The yarn and needles for the White Witch Mitts is here! I'm going to the grocery store and then I am going to start winding it up :) Yay! So if you hear cursing, it's me, tangling my yarn and screwing up the pattern, lol.

Monday

2010-11-29T05:20:00.003-07:00

Blech. The weekend just wasn't long enough.

But I did get the tree and the lights up and discovered that my wreath is battery operated, lol.

And the yarn and needles for the White Witch Mitts is on order. I went with Knitpicks, and got Merino yarn instead of baby alpaca (though I do love baby alpaca!) for a fraction of the cost of the suggested yarn. $25 for yarn, needles and shipping is much better than the $50 the alpaca would have cost at my LYS. Love my LYS but....

Now if I could just figure out why in the hell I wake up every morning with my back hurting like hell, life would be better.

The plan...

2010-11-27T09:02:00.003-07:00

I want to put up the Christmas tree today. And the lights outside. And I still need to try and figure out how to light my wreath, since there is no outlet by the front door.

I also want to go to Ft. C. to the library and maybe even hit my LYS. I found an amazing mitten pattern that I really want to knit. It's the White Witch Mitts from Interweave. I've never knit Fair Isle or mittens. But these are soooo pretty, and they don't have that weird pointy thing that a lot of knit mittens do (yeah, I know that's a traditional design element but...).

The main question is whether my hubby can be convinced that $25 mittens are an ok thing...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T09:48:00.003-07:00

My hubby nearly got into a fight this morning at work. He was telling one co-worker about our family tradition of spaghetti on Thanksgiving and why (long story short it started one year when I was sick at T-day. And now the kiddo is a picky eater and won't eat turkey, stuffing, etc. Not to mention we all finally admitted we don't really like turkey...). The other co-worker didn't even hear the full story, just stormed up to my hubby (who is from London, England) and announced that since his daughter was an American we should into the full Thanksgiving hoopla.

Well I'm an American too, and damned if I want to spend the entire bloody day in the kitchen making a huge meal on my day off. We do Christmas dinner and that's quite enough. (We have ham, not turkey. This year I am going to make a dish of dressing because that's the one thing I miss about turkey, lol.)

We all enjoy our stress free meal of spaghetti and garlic bread and we get to sit down and eat together (the scene from A Christmas Story where he says, "My mother had not had a hot meal for herself in 15 years," springs to mind when I think of childhood Thanksgivings and Christmases. I don't want that for myself. Is that wrong?)

Anyway, happy Thanksgiving, no matter how you celebrate!

BBC 100 Books List

2010-11-22T07:05:00.006-07:00

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here.

Instructions: Copy this into your NOTES. Bold those books you've read in their entirety. Italicize the ones you started but didn't finish. Tag other book nerds. Tag me as well so I can see your responses!

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma -Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 The Lord of the Flies
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno - Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

25 out of 100, 1/4 of the list. Not too shabby. And honestly, I don't ever see myself going back and reading any of the others (many on the list I wish I'd not read, lol). Some were dreadful, some were greatly over-rated *cough*BridgetJonesandTheLovelyBones*cough* some I was forced to read at school and some I read for pleasure.

It's Friday, but...

2010-11-19T06:14:00.002-07:00

I have to have my first mammogram in an hour. And I only have Saturday off this week, not Sunday, since I have Thursday off instead.

The mammogram has me antsy. I woke up at 4 AM and tossed and turned until 5:15 when I finally gave up and just got out of bed. I have to get in the shower soon and remember not to put on any deodorant, while remembering to put it in my bag so I can put it on before work, since I will be going straight there from the hospital.

Only having Saturday off means I have to get all of my errands done that day. Especially grocery shopping (which I am really looking forward to, since I know the place will be packed with everyone shopping for Turkey day. All I need is a jar of spaghetti sauce, some noodles and maybe some frozen garlic bread. Easy! And of course enough lunches for the kiddo and I to get through the week).

I think it's safe to poke my head out now...

2010-11-14T15:43:00.004-07:00

Whew! The last 2 weeks have been super hectic. But it's all good. We exceeded budget with two weeks of the period to go, though one of those weeks is Thanksgiving week, and my department will be slow that week. That's not to say I won't have a crazy Black Friday, 'cause it's going to be the same wild ride it is every year. I've no idea where I will be that morning, last year I was the go-fer and I went a lot!

But anyhoo, things should calm down a bit now that the special we were having is over. (The last week of that was crazy with everyone trying to get their stuff taken care of to take advantage of the special).

I am damned tired though. Can't even get up the energy to go to the grocery store. I have lunches for me and the kiddo for several days and a few gallons of milk. At some point I will have to go to the library next week, so maybe I will hit the store then. Or maybe I'll let the hubby go on his night off. I kinda get tired of going every week...

Whew!

2010-11-05T20:53:00.002-06:00

TGIF! I even had an extra day off this week, right in the middle of the week, but my arse is dragging! We scored a huge new account, but it's a lot of work. I spent all day yesterday working on one portion, the night crew worked on another portion, but ran out of supplies. Boss man got supplies and I finished it off this morning, after drafting just about everyone else, lol. I seriously had all but two people working on this job, and one of those two people managed to disappear when I wanted him to help or I'd have had him working on it too! Oh and boss man was on a conference call, so he got a pass, lol. Got everything done by 10 AM though.

Which is good, since they came back later with more work! It's going to be another busy week!!!

Another thing I'm glad is over

2010-11-03T16:35:00.004-06:00

My yearly doctor's visit. Now I just have to wait impatiently for lab results and call for an appointment for a mammogram. Conveniently I can go to the hospital right by our house and they have evening appointments, so I won't have to take another day off work.

I decided it was time to go back on birth control pills as well. Have I mentioned that my doctor rocks?? He's is so worth the hour drive! He actually checked into my insurance to see what they would or would not cover for me. They won't cover a freakin' thing!!!! They'll pay for a pregnancy but not contraceptives. K, that sucks. Luckily, my doctor has done his research and he knows which BC pills are the cheapest. I'm pretty sure I'm getting my pill much cheaper than I used to before. Yay!

The one drawback to the doctor's visit is I now know exactly how much I weigh. I thought I was comfortable with my weight until I actually saw the number :(

Soooo glad it's over!

2010-11-03T08:23:00.003-06:00

I know the election will continue to be in the news for a while, but at least the phone calls will stop. American Crossroads, you are the most annoying people out there! For one thing, I voted early, by mail in ballot, so your phone calls did nothing but annoy me.

And the attack ads will stop. At least until American voters realize that once again, the people that they've elected on the basis of "change" really don't have a magic wand and the next two years are going to be as big a struggle as the previous two years...

Sorry, I've kept quiet until now, but Obama is not the root of all evil. He inherited a lousy situation: a poor global economy, a not so popular war. He's not done all bad, change just hasn't come fast enough for most American voters (Because again, he doesn't have a magic wand!).

But the Tea Party platform of cutting taxes while retaining services is ABSOLUTELY FUCKING STUPID! Going back to "the way things were in the times of the Founding Fathers" is just STUPID. We cannot reasonably go back to that era because things change. And frankly, I'm happy with my right to vote, with every citizen's right to vote. I'm ok with paying my taxes to support public education, a police and fire department and services to help those who need it (Yes social services needs to be reformed, but that's another rant). I'm ok with hunters paying a fee to go hunting on public and private lands, it keeps the herds from getting wiped out and it helps supports public lands. I'm ok with fishing licenses for the same reason. I'm ok with auto registration fees, 'cause something is needed to help pay for the miles of roads in our states. Frankly, I'm ok with all these voluntary fees. That's right, voluntary. You don't want to pay a registration, don't drive. you don't want to pay for a hunting or fishing license, don't hunt or fish.

But really, I didn't intend to rant here. I meant to celebrate. The end of the phone calls, attack ads and speculation. And the fact that Amendment 62 failed in Colorado. And the passage of Referred Measure 2C. (I honestly don't have a problem with medical marijuana. What I have a problem with are the few bad apples who spoiled it for the lot. The pot shop in front of my local high school, the big mouth who went on the news bragging, in a shit economy no less, about how he was pulling in $300k a year selling pot, which is guess what, still a Federal offense. The message boards where MMJ users brag about getting high "legally." That's the kind of stuff that makes us vote you all out.)

Just sad and wrong

2010-11-02T20:45:00.002-06:00

I read this article and wanted to cry.

I have a ten year old daughter. The thought of her having a baby is crazy!! This is why we recently checked books about puberty and sex from the library. I want my child to have the facts. I don't want my child to be playing (or think she's playing) with or letting some boy "play" with her.

That anyone should need to have a detailed sex chat with a 10 year old is so sad, but unfortunately in this day and age kids are growing up faster and faster. My daughter already thinks she knows everything, but she doesn't. What your kid doesn't know can seriously hurt them. :(

Happy Halloween!!!

2010-10-31T09:27:00.005-06:00

Got me a lovely pumpkin spice latte and I'm getting ready to roast pumpkin seeds. I love roasted pumpkin seeds. We had a total of 4 pumpkins this year, one I carved for work and 3 for the family. I already roasted (and ate!) the seeds from the work pumpkin. So yesterday while cleaning out the family pumpkins so we could carve them that evening, I carefully saved all the seeds. Except for the last pumpkin, which had some funky mold growing in there, ewwww. I still ended up with a full cookie sheet of seeds.

So last night I rinsed and boiled them in salted water (serves the dual purpose of cleaning the seeds a bit better and salting my seeds). I spread them out on the cookie sheet to dry over night. Unfortunately, they were still quite wet, so now they are in a warm oven drying. In a little bit I will melt some butter, add some seasoning salt and pour that over the seeds, then stuff them back in a 300 degree oven to roast until nicely brown and crunchy. Yum!

I'd show you the carved pumpkins but our tripod has wandered away and the pictures I took last night sucked. Gotta find that tripod today!

Instead, I'll show you a picture of the F & F scarf blocking ;) It's not real straight, lol, but it turned out nicely. Now to start the kiddo's Baroness Beret. Hopefully this one won't take me as long as the scarf did, since it's getting cold and the kiddo really could use a hat!

Ouch.

2010-10-30T09:58:00.002-06:00

Had to suspend someone at work this week. After getting caught working on some highly inappropriate personal material at work, this person was written up and told a second offense would lead to termination. The type of personal work on the clock changed, but it was still using company time to do their own thing instead of helping out in other areas when needed. After repeated warnings to all my staff to discontinue personal work, I finally had to say something to my supervisors. Then another person complained and we started taking screen shots and copying files (which were slyly hidden where no one would look, but duh, Publisher shows you the last several documents that have been saved...). Everything was sent to HR. More warnings about personal work followed, and were ignored again and again.

We had to get the person's written statement about the activities and finally got word back that we were to "suspend pending investigation." It's highly unlikely this person will be coming back.

Part of me feels terrible, because I know this person has health issues and needs the insurance provided. But the other part of me wonders just how many times we have to warn people before they get a clue! I mean, knowing that you needed this job (especially since the economy is still crap here) wouldn't you try your damnedest to not screw up?? I gave so many informal warnings (chances) before I finally had to say something.

Woot!

2010-10-25T20:49:00.002-06:00

The Feather and Fan scarf is done. Well, ok, it still needs blocking, and the ends woven in, but the knitting is complete ;)

Really??

2010-10-23T08:23:00.002-06:00

I think I am going to have to stop watching TLC. L.A. Ink turned into a total soap opera. And putting the Duggars on TV was bad (I wasn't a big fan of Jon & Kate either). But then came Sister Wives. Nothing like giving money to and glorifying people who are blatantly breaking the law. What's next? Pot Growers, Inc.? (Oh wait, news channel in Denver did that and the guy that bragged about his "legal" pot income of $400k a year was busted by the DEA right after *g*).

But now they've really done it. They've given Sarah Palin a mini reality series. Puh-leaze.

Looks like it's going to be a good day...

2010-10-16T09:32:00.003-06:00

I love all things pumpkin. This morning started on a high note with a lovely pumpkin pie latte and an English muffin slathered in Pumpkin Apple Butter. Yummy!

Pumpkin Apple Butter

15oz can pumpkin
1 3/4c applesauce
1/2c brown sugar
1t pumpkin pie spice

Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat, simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Chill. Keep refrigerated. It freezes well too.

In a bit I'm going to run off to the library and pick up the 5 books I have on hold (and the video of the BBC programme on the 6 wives of Henry VIII). And none too soon, either, the books I grabbed last week left me cold.

The kiddo had her first parent/teacher conference at the new school on Thursday. It was good. Her teacher wants her to start reading some non-fiction books, because the level of fiction books she should be reading are most likely not age appropriate (She reads at at least an 8th grade level). So we shall be searching the juvenile non-fiction section at the library today as well.

I also need to buy a new day pack today. My poor North Face backpack has served me faithfully for 20 years. It was given to me as a gift by my mother when I started college. It's toted text books and numerous library books, it served as a diaper bag when the kiddo was small, a carry on on every flight I've taken in the last 20 years and it totes my junk to and from work with me every day. Which makes it the best damned gift my mother has ever given me! But all that work has finally caught up with it and the zipper has blown out :( I will definitely be shopping for a new North Face bag today.

Going to start Christmas shopping today too :)

And I found Glee Radio on the net too, so now I am happy musically too, lol.

Update: Got a nice new backpack. It's this one, though I didn't get it at Sports Authority, and mine is red. It was on sale too, so that's even better :)

Really

2010-10-11T17:41:00.003-06:00

Looking forward to Glee tomorrow, lol. Kurt sings, "Le Jazz Hot" from Victor/Victoria and what I've heard is brilliant. And he has two songs with Rachel too, so it's a Kurt-licious episode :)

YUM!

2010-10-09T15:47:00.002-06:00

I love fall. One of the reasons I love fall is because the pumpkin spice latte comes back. But it's a habit I don't like to indulge too often, because it gets expensive. But now I just bought this. Davinci Pumpkin Pie Sauce! I bought a half gallon a few years ago and it was devine. But I was annoyed because I bought it through that link, paid shipping and then found out the vendor was local!!! Like just a few miles from my house local.

So just for the heck of it, I went to their website today and found that they are offering free local delivery on orders over $25. So now the hubby gets some White Chocolate syrup as well, and I get my pumpkin fix ;) (I'd rather pay a few $ more to get something more than pay for shipping, and I had a 15% off coupon code too, so that helps). Yum!

Oh noes!

2010-10-05T18:01:00.003-06:00

Our air conditioning seems to be on the fritz. I walked in and it was 77 degrees inside, I thought maybe hubby has turned it off and only just turned it back on again, but no. It's been running non-stop all day from the look of things. No wonder hubby didn't sleep well. This sucks, because neither of us sleep well in a warm house, and the idiots below us are from Louisiana and already have their heat on, which keeps the house warmer than I'd like right now. Come winter this will be a good thing, but not right now!

At least it's someone else's money that will pay for repairs but it also means we have to wait for the property service to send someone out.

BIG Month

2010-10-01T21:12:00.002-06:00

I love October. But there are too many things I want to do for the month. I love Halloween, and I want to decorate my blog to match. But I think Breast Cancer Awareness is a huge thing and I want my blog to reflect that too.

So don't be surprised if I switch back and forth all month long :)

Banned Books Week

2010-09-25T20:14:00.004-06:00

Celebrate the Freedom to Read! Go read a banned or challenged book! Open your mind.

Honestly, some of the reasons for challenging books are just ridiculous and petty. Others come from people who have never even read the books but jumped to snap conclusions.

According to the ALA,

"Often challenges are motivated by a desire to protect children from “inappropriate” sexual content or “offensive” language. The following were the top three reasons cited for challenging materials as reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom:

1. The material was considered to be "sexually explicit"
2. The material contained "offensive language"
3. The material was "unsuited to any age group"'

But it's my job as a parent to protect my child. It's my job to look at anything questionable and decide if I want her to be reading it. But it is NOT my job to police other children's reading. And it's not your job either.

I read plenty of things that I'm sure my mother would have had fits about had she known. As a pre-teen I read "Forever" by Judy Blume (my mother knew the author's name, but not the subject of the book, and needless to say I never shared that with her!) and found in a stack of my older sister's college books the story of Linda Lovelace. I can't say I would want my daughter to read the Lovelace book right now, but they didn't turn me into to some twisted sex fiend ;)

Books, Glee and other unrelated stuff

2010-09-21T20:41:00.003-06:00

I love to read. You probably figured that out already from previous posts. My daughter loves to read too. She's 10 and reads at a 12th grade level. Very cool, that. And when her new teacher asked her just before school started if she read over the summer she of course answered, "Yes." He asked her what she'd been reading and she told him "Oz books." She's totally in to the Oz series by the amazing Frank L. Baum.

Recently her teacher surprised her, by checking out a new Wizard of Oz graphic novel at the local library and letting her read it. Very cool, that as well! She devoured it, and is now reading Fairest by Gail Carson Levine (the author of Ella Enchanted). Who knows what she will be reading next!

Anyhoo. Glee. I'm a bit disappointed, because they teased us with competition for Rachel and then got rid of her. Boooo! I wanted Rachel to have the competition. I don't like her. She's a snot and really, I would love to see Mercedes and Kurt get more front time. And I'm sorry, but the whole boob job story line was just over the top. I think I laughed more at Jane Lynch's "Don't be a Sue" advert than I did over Glee tonight :(

And speaking of high school... I totally felt like I was back in high school yesterday thanks to 3 co-workers. Two of them are dating, and I think the third is jealous, so she told the girl half of the couple something about the boy half of the couple and now they aren't friends anymore. Yeah, how old are you all?? I'm just waiting for the first time they all 3 work together again, sheesh.

The crappy unnamed cable company is about to get the boot. We switched the phone already, internet changes tomorrow and hopefully the DirecTv folks will show up soon with our dish and then I will have We tv and get to watch My Fair wedding every week on Sundays, lol.

Ok, enough random babbling. Night!

World of Warcraft Cataclysm expansion

2010-09-18T11:24:00.002-06:00

So I finally got my Beta key and between hubby and I, spent a few hours in the game last night.

Originally they said there would be NO huge equipment upgrade, like from original to BC. Really?? 'Cause there sure as heck is.
First green quest reward item I saw was better than a lot of Tier 10 gear. Not that a single bloody piece of equipment for my Balance druid has been offered. Everything is geared to kitties.

I like being able to fly everywhere.

But I don't particularly like that they've put in flight paths everywhere in the old world. WoW in easy mode...

They originally said that it would take as long to go from 80-85 as it took to go from 70-80. Really? 'Cause I'm about to hit 81 after only a few hours of play. Sorry, but 20k+ exp for a quest is tooooooo much. At this rate, I will have no reason to go to the other new areas, I'll hit 85 in Hyjal. Hmmm. At least with Wrath I went to most areas before I hit 80. I've got most of the quest acheivements, except for Icecrown because I was 80 before I ever really spent any time there.

It's pretty. The new underwater zone is lovely. But annoying as hell when trying to get into buildings.

So far, the bad is outweighing the good for me and I'm not seeing a lot to tempt players who have grown bored and left the game to come back, let alone drop another $50 on the expansion. People like me, lol. I'll play the beta, because it's free and different. But grinding levels still bores me and unless the new instance/raid content is really good (not too easy/not too hard) I just don't see myself playing for long.

Is it Friday yet??

2010-09-14T20:25:00.002-06:00

Today was just one of those days. I am sooooooooo tired. I went in at 8 AM and clocked out at 6:20 PM. I did manage to get a 15 minute break and a 30 minute lunch, but the rest of the day was just non-stop. And no one had anything easy, lol.

All I can say is thank goodness I dawdled this morning and had to drive to work. I think if I had gotten off work and had to walk home I'd have cried. Or called the hubby and made him come get me ;)

I just want to go to bed now. Night, night.

Fun!

2010-09-10T17:02:00.005-06:00

At work we have a regular client who owns a cute little boutique. Every time she comes in she's wearing a different necklace. I finally asked her about them and she told me I had to come in and look because she has a ton of them, and proceeded to pop out the middle of her necklace. It's a magnet. A Magnabilities to be exact.

So today I went over and looked at her stock and got me a nice chain and pendant and 4 inserts for it. Now I want to get just the round pendant too, lol.

But the best thing is, she has waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more inserts than are available online! (Of which I actually have a small part in the making of, but I'm sworn to secrecy and can't say anymore, haha)

So if you ever happen to be near Centerra, pop into MAXimum Boutique and take a look.

Up until now

2010-09-06T10:00:00.002-06:00

I haven't really been interested in using Facebook to reconnect with folks from high school. But today, just for the heck of it, I searched the name of one of my best friends in high school. And I found her. We were best buds until our junior year when I moved away and we lost touch. Now I just have to see if she accepts my friend request. It would be fun to reconnect and catch up a bit.

But I'm still not adding my maiden name to my profile. It's fine if I search people out, but I don't want anyone finding me, hahahaha.

I want to bake this weekend

2010-09-03T20:59:00.006-06:00

I don't know why. Maybe it was the chill in the air this morning as I went to work, bringing fall closer, while still holding on to summer during the day. I want to bake a pie of some sort (Well, really I want to bake something pumpkin-y, but my hubby hates anything pumpkin, so I will make something else we can all eat, though it is getting to be time for pumpkin butter again, yum!).

I think it's time for a strawberry pie. I haven't made one in years and it was always my favorite treat when my mother made it. I'm going to cheat and buy a pie crust, purely because I don't have any flour and I can't be bothered to buy any (I don't bake enough to use it before Christmas). Go figure, I will buy corn starch, but not flour...

Anyhoo, here's my family recipe for strawberry pie. I like this pie because it doesn't have the gelatin that so many berry pies have.

Ingredients

1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
1 quart fresh strawberries
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. butter

Directions

Arrange half of strawberries in baked pastry shell. Mash remaining berries and combine with sugar in a medium saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and with some of the juice from the berries. Gradually stir cornstarch mixture into strawberry mixture, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer mixture until thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly, add lemon juice and butter, stir well. Pour mixture over berries in baked pastry shell. Chill for several hours before serving. Eat alone or serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Note: I've found that you need extra cornstarch at higher alitudes or you end up with strawberry soup!

Enjoy!

Edited to add: Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Pie crust, baked it and the damned thing slid down in the pie plate. So I baked the other crust, taking care to make sure the dough was stretched and fluted well. Same damned thing. I hate wasting time and money. This is the first time I have ever had a blind baked crust do that, too. I am way peeved :(

Why cable sucks

2010-09-02T17:20:00.003-06:00

I went to pay my bill online last night and about peed my pants. $326! WTF?? Why is everything listed under misc. charges?? So I call cable provider and ask what the heck is going on? Why has my bill increased from $90/mo. to $114? And why am I paying for HD when I can't actually receive HD tv? And WHAT THE HELL ARE ALL THE MISC. CHARGES??

After going 'round and 'round for ages, I've decided that the cable company sucks eggs. When we moved, they screwed up our service transfer, and it took hours to get it straightened out over the phone and they hung up on me several times. I let them get away with it that time, because it was easier than switching. But this just takes the cake.

Awfully convenient that my "promotional price" ran out right after we moved. And sadly, the $114 is the cheapest offer they can give me (which after taxes and stuff is actually closer to $150!). Really? 'Cause I still see a bundle advertised for $89.99. So I told them I would be calling DirecTV and she got all, "Oh hold on a second. Do you mind if I put you on hold and see what we can do?"

She came back with, "Well, we could give you a free HD receiver, but the $114 is the best deal we have." Thanks for your time, but I'll be calling DirecTV. I've already contacted the property service we use and the dish is no problem so it's time to call. It's past time.

First it was the trampoline,

2010-09-01T17:50:00.004-06:00

then it was dodgeball and tag. Now they are taking away swingsets at elementary schools.

We've become such a litigious society that kids can't even play on the swings anymore! This is getting absolutely ridiculous. I've said it before and I will say it again. Soon recess will be nothing more than children lined up outside (not touching anything or anyone, 'cause they might get hurt) for 5 minutes each day.

How is it the school's fault that your kid decided to play Superman and launch himself from the swing? Are teachers supposed to be mind readers now too? And does your backyard swing set have a "safe" surface for your kid to land on?

Hell, when I was a kid the school playground equipment was surrounded by gravel. Hurt like hell to land on and gave beautiful road rash. But how was it any worse than the rock hard ground around my swing set at home? The squishy rubber surfaces or sand that most play areas have now is brilliant, and if your kid didn't try to fly, maybe he'd have landed on it.

Kids do stupid things. They can't help it (they have no impulse control), it's their job to be stupid and learn from their mistakes. Quit molly-coddling your kids, let them learn and teach them responsibility for their own actions. But most of all...

Parents, let your kids be kids, quit trying to make a fast buck from their childhood.

It is Autumn yet??

2010-08-27T16:33:00.003-06:00

The Back to School season at work is officially over, as school is back in session. We had a few cooler days last week, then WHAM! Back to 90+ temps. No wonder I have a wicked sinus infection, my body doesn't know what season it is in.

I really enjoyed the cooler temps. I even worked out homes indoors for my outdoors plants. Little Miss I. will be getting decorations on the top of her dresser this winter in the form of my geraniums. The other little plants will join the other few plants in the kitchen by the sink.

I wish the ledge by the window was just a little wider, so my plants would fit on there when the blind is down. Oh well. At least I can actually have plants in plain view now, since I have no cat to eat them any longer. (I still miss him dreadfully, but there are a few advantages. No cat on the counters, no cat eating anything and everything you turn your back on for two seconds....)

But I digress... Cooler weather, I'm ready for you! It will be lovely to be able to walk to and from work. To leave the windows open and get some fresh air. And even more lovely to be able to go for a walk around the lake without melting! And I am just ready for the colors of fall. I can't wait to see what the lake looks like as all the foliage changes. I think it will be great to sit out on the deck in the evenings and read or just watch the birds. Right now I am limited to early in the morning before it starts getting too hot and at night the mosquitoes come out in squadrons!

Ah Autumn, come home soon! ;)

Open mouth insert foot?

2010-08-20T20:02:00.005-06:00

Today at work I had to print out some images for a regular customer. Some of them were these cute little animals, totally perfect for a young kiddo or baby. So I made the comment, "Oh these are sooooo cute. I don't have a kiddo young enough to appreciate them but..." And she blurts out, "Neither do I. Mine's dead" And I must have just stood there gaping like a landed fish as she continued, "His birthday's tomorrow and I'm just a mess!"

And of course I just keep saying, "Oh I am so sorry, I'm soooo sorry."

Anything you say and do on Facebook

2010-08-14T12:01:00.004-06:00

may be used against you. Maybe not in a court of law, but in life. Think before you post, people!

For instance, when I came home for lunch last week I noticed a coworker had posted to FB. I added my two cents and didn't think much about it. I didn't think to look at the time the original post came in. Until 2 minutes after I posted my comment she replied. Interesting. Since at both the time of the original post and the reply (and 11 more replies to various other people) she was at work. And supposed to be WORKING.

One of the comments was from another coworker, who was on his lunch break when I got back. It says, "Wow, I didn't know you got Facebook in the cash office." She didn't get the point and just replied, "I get everything sent to my phone."

And the most brilliant thing? When she got called on the carpet about texting and using FB at work, she flat out frickin' LIED. Said she never used FB at work. I beg to differ honey... And I've got the screen shot to prove it.

Then today I got a text from my boss asking me to call ASAP. She wanted to me to look at FB and look at a coworker's profile because he'd unfriended her and then called in sick this morning. She could access his girlfriend's profile (one of my employees), and her post was about how excited she was that they were going camping today. Hmmm. So the boss lady was wondering if he'd posted anything. And also wondering if the gf would show up for work today. Sheesh.

Anyway. The kiddo has a friend over, so I had better go see what they are up to. Ciao!