It's here!

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

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...

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!

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

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...

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...

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!

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

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!

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

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!!!

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.

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!

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

Really??

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...

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

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!

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!

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

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 :)