Real Tragic :(

I know I played up the hole in my sock as tragic in my last post, but now we truly have had tragedy hit close to home. We've just had a second person shot and killed locally, part of what may be a serial sniper's spree! The first victim survived, the second was a cyclist out for a ride and the 3rd was a man walking off work stress late at night. it's sad, and scary too. My hubby commutes, so he's out on the road with no choice. I'm hopeful that because it's a busy stretch of highway during daylight and rush hour that things will be ok, but it's all super worrisome.

(Not so) Tragic!

One of my Buffalo Feathers socks, made from Buffalo Wool Co.'s Tracks, sneaked its way into the washing machine this week. Hubby found it when transferring everything to the dryer. It has a big ol' hole in the sole! I have leftover yarn, so I am going to try and repair it. I'm ever so sad.

Better news, my kiddo finishes school this week. She already has a reading assignment and a paper to write on it over the summer! Wow. I think she's going to find her AP Human Geography class a bit more of a challenge next year. She rarely had homework this year, but I think that will change, at least for this class.

I kind of find it amusing that this whole Common Core (crap) deal is supposed to more prepare kids for college. Really? Maybe college has changed since I was there, but my professors NEVER accepted late work, nearly every teacher my daughter has now, does. How is that teaching kids to be responsible? I think that it's gotten to the point where it's easier to accept work late than it is to argue with parents that their "special snowflake" didn't do the work on time and therefore didn't pass the class. And teaching kids to add 15 + 5 using a gazallion steps isn't going to help a kid in college!

Why yes, CC really annoys me! As a result I joined the Opt Out Movement, and kept my daughter from taking the PARCC tests this year. I heard way too many negative things about the tests and the way they are scored.

OK, I will step off of my soapbox now. ;) Have a great rest of the week!

300 days of sunshine?

Not this year! We finally saw the sun this evening, after a pretty wicked thunderstorm. Everything is still saturated, and the rivers and streams are over-flowing their banks. Hubby actually got "stranded" at work one day last week, when the river over-topped the highway and they closed the road. It re-opened that evening, so he got home ok, but I am ready for the rain to end. Of course, then the heat will come, and all the snow in the mountains will start to melt and we'll be flooding again. Ah, life in the Rockies! ;)

The kiddo's 1st sock in the Rainbow Bright is finished, with the second sock maybe a third done. I've been working on it pretty sporadically, between books. I just can't stand audio books, so that's not an option, ever.

Isabel is just about done with her first year of high school, and her first year of LISA. She still loves it, and seems to have come out of her shell a bit, thankfully. She'll likely take driver's ed this summer. Eeeeeek!

Spring

It's cold. And raining. Like lots of rain. So now Winnie the Pooh is singing in my head,"And the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down, in rushing, rising rivlets." Funny thing is when I looked it up on youtube the first one was in Swedish, haha.

It's good, we need the rain, but everything is already saturated, which means the rivers are rising. Obviously, it's nothing like the big flood in 2013, but a lot of the areas that are starting to flood are still recovering from that flood. Hubby works in an area that they're still fixing the roads, and the roads in and out of Estes are still not permanently fixed. (It's sad driving up highway 34, the river is so changed and there are still houses that must be condemned, but haven't been pulled down yet. The dam along 34 that used to have a lake and a rest stop is completely gone. But I digress...).

Anyway, I think we'll get some lovely wild flowers out of in when it finally stops raining. And of course, being spring in the Rockies, we're also under a Winter Storm Watch at the same time as we are under Flood Warnings. Ahh, spring :)

In other news, I'm still not working. I'm going to try and pick up something part time, but I also think it might be nice to spend a summer with my kiddo before she flies the coop in a few years. And she'll have her driver's permit soon, so that will be loads of fun, haha.

Yep, tomorrow is her 15th birthday, and she's asking for Driver's Ed. Watch out Northern Colorado!

I've put my Barn Raising Quilt squares on hold again, since I'm knitting the first sock out of Rainbow Bright for the kiddo. I'm at the gussets now, and it's a pretty basic sock, so if I actually sit and work on it in the next few days, I should have it done. Just in time for warm weather again, oops.

When I fall off the wagon, I fall hard!

I fell off the yarn wagon yesterday at the Interweave Yarn Fest. My daughter actually pushed me, hahaha. I brought home 2 gorgeous,sparkly, skeins of sock yarn. Oh yeah, I am part crow, because anything shiny grabs me!

Western Sky Knits Twinkle Sock in Rainbow Bright & Greenwood Fiberworks Star Dust in Watercolor

Both are destined to become socks for the daughter ;)

Spring in the Rockies!

Yesterday it snowed in the morning, we got at least an inch out of it, but it was warm enough that it never stuck to the pavement. By afternoon it was rain mixed with snow. It rained all night, and finally stopped a little bit ago. Just in time to go to the Interweave Yarn Fest! I've been on a yarn fast since January, but I think I may fall off the wagon today. Looking at pictures, I have already spied some tempting sock yarn... :)

Er, Ummm

Oops. Somewhere along the way I wrote a big long post. I never posted it.

So what's been going on? Well, nearly 4 months ago I decided I was fed up with being taken for granted and given the same old promises to change things by my boss, over and over again, only to have him do nothing, just like the previous time. I walked out. They can Make More Happen with less, just like they expected me to.

Frankly, I gave 6 years of my life to that P.O.S. company and they never really gave a crap. My husband on the other hand, was hired by a new company. His starting rate was higher than mine after SIX f-ing years. He's now gotten a raise, and a chance at even more $ come July in a new position with the same company. So I am taking my time looking for a job that I will hopefully be happy at. And hopefully, they will appreciate me.

So now I find myself gaining back all the weight that I never actually meant to lose, but lost anyway through pure stress and constantly missing lunch because no one even noticed I was still stuck in the freaking corner. Time to stop being such a couch potato, hahaha. The weather this winter has mostly been unseasonably mild, so I have no excuse but pure laziness!

I have managed to get a lot of my TBR list read, and multiple squares worked on my knit crazy quilt. It's honestly been nice to not have to be anywhere at any given time, to do any given thing. Low on milk? No problem. Kiddo needs to be somewhere as soon as school is out? Okey dokey. New book in at the library? Off I go. The one place I am avoiding like the plague at the moment though, the yarn shop! I have quite a bit of sock yarn bits and bobs, so I am knitting up a storm. Maybe, some day, my crazy quilt will be done, haha.

Anyhoo, back to my book.

Happenings

I went to see the Yarn Harlot speak a few weeks ago. First, she didn't sound like I had imagined her in my head, haha. I think I had a heard a brief recording of her in the past but forgot that recorded voices don't always match reality. Second, she was absolutely hysterical. And it was truly lovely to hang out with a bunch of people, knitting in public. I am a solitary knitter. I join knitting groups online, but I don't go out and knit with them. It's not because I am ashamed of knitting, really, I am just a solitary person.

Something I feel bad about, because I feel like I've made my family pretty solitary too :( I'm now trying to push my teenage daughter to go out and have fun, be with people. I told her today that she needed to start planning for Halloween with her friends because Mom & Dad aren't being dragged along now that she's in high school. Even if I do loooove Halloween. But I can't punish my kiddo by making her spend time with her parents anymore, lol. Or at least not until she deserves it.

Instead, I am going to support my love of Halloween by decorating the house to the max and becoming known as "that Crazy Family that Lives Across the Street."

We have two Halloween wreathes, both featuring skulls. This one was on the door, He's called Joe. The rest of him is actually now part of Steve. He's been moved to the window, with a flock of bats and a spooky red eyed owl.

This one is now on the door instead. He's Steve. Because we rebuilt him. We had the technology, or at least a lot of glue sticks.
Sadly, my daughter doesn't understand the joke.

I have a witch silhouette on my sliding glass door, she's feeding a bone to a vulture. Another window has my ravens and black cat stalking each other.

Isabel has decorated her room with some old window clings we had stashed away too, as well as a lighted jack-o-lantern.

We're getting there. Not quite totally crazy yet, but closer :D

Could've sworn...

That I'd posted more recently. Oops.

Let's see, what's happened since last September...

It's been a year since the big flood, people are recovering.

The kiddo started high school last month. I feel old.

We've moved. Just down the street really, but a pain in the arse anyway. But I like it here, we have tons of windows, which means we have a lot of natural light. And the neighborhood rules aren't nearly as strict. Plus, the week we moved in, they had a neighborhood BBQ with food from one of my favorite restaurants, yum. We have a wee little yard too, mostly rock with some shrubbery. And the evergreen tree in the yard already has Christmas lights on it, thanks to the previous tenants, haha.

Still working the same job, and it feels more dead end every day, even though I actually like my job. I just can't see myself there for too much longer. Now that the husband is settled in a decent job, I think I need to start looking.

Oh yeah, G's "temp" job turned into a full time "real" job, after 7 months of working there. And they encourage him to work over time, rather than yell (like my employer does). He worked 30 hours of OT one week, while the kiddo and I went to visit my mom in Iowa.

It was unseasonably cool in Iowa in August. Thank goodness. But I was sad that I didn't get homegrown tomatoes with every meal, haha.

And speaking of tomatoes, next summer I am going to grow them on our deck. We get much more sun on the deck than we did at the old place, and I think they will do well. I didn't get any flowers or plants of any sort this year, it seemed like just one more thing to move in June. Oh wait, I lie. I got two little geraniums to go in the pots that hold my old geraniums and fill things out a bit. But they live indoors, not on the deck.

Now that things are a bit more settled it's time to start checking a few things off my wish list. I want to go big for Halloween. Because I love Halloween. And we have sooo many windows. The old witch silhouette will go in the sliding glass door like last year, but I think the front windows are going to be cats and bats. Maybe a smaller witch in the side windows, for the people across the way. They're cheap enough. I want a black wreath for the door, or maybe I can find some more fake bones and actually make a wreath out of them this time. Like this:

Nothing too expensive, since the one thing on my wishlist that I really, really want is a new mattress! Soon, hopefully.

Anyhoo. I need to go nag the kiddo into the shower (and in 20 minutes I will have to nag her to get out, haha).

Awesome kid

My awesome,talented daughter was just accepted into the LISA program at our local high school!

What is LISA?
LISA = Loveland Integrated School of the Arts
An educational option that nourishes and challenges students who have a passion for the arts
A program that integrates visual and performing arts across the curriculum
An alternative to traditional learning styles that includes the arts in core content classes such as social studies, math, and science
Arts opportunities in the classroom, as extracurricular activities, and through performances and shows

She's soooo excited, and frankly, so am I for her :) It's basically a school within a school. All the classes are pre-AP, so nothing is dumbed down, just more interesting. The first few years the majority of her classes will be with the same group of kids, hopefully allowing her to make some good friends and get involved with things other than her blasted iPad, lol. I wish they'd had something like this when I was in school!

It was a pretty interesting application process, reminded me of college applications! We had to get multiple recommendations from teachers and friends. Then she had to take 3-5 of her best art pieces to an audition where they asked her about her future plans, school work, etc.

Now we just have to go get her registered on Feb. 5 and it will all have been worth it!

F***!

Swearing loudly and profusely at the moment! My truck has decided that -10 is too much for it and it will not start. Luckily I live close to work, so they're sending someone for me. Weather, please warm up soon! I need to be able to use my truck!

Om nom, nom!

I love bacon, I love chicken and I love spicy food. So this afternoon when we realized we didn't have ground beef for the burgers we'd planned on having (Diced serrano pepper, chopped bacon, diced onion, all mixed into the beef and grilled, best burgers ever!), we pulled chicken breasts from the freezer instead and I searched chicken for something different on Pinterest. Score!

Sweet & Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken.

We used cayenne pepper, and didn't cut up the chicken breasts, but it was DELICIOUS!!!!

So over family!

Had an argument with my mom yesterday. She's "hurt" that I haven't been back to visit for years now, but my oh so perfect sister and her family finds the time to go see her. Well, let's see... They live no more than a few hours away from my mom, I live more than 12 hours away. Not to mention the fact that I am flat broke. Something she doesn't understand, because she's never had to worry about money, ever. Nor does she grasp the concept of work, because she's never had to do that either. I'm just supposed to walk into work at my busiest time of the year (this week and next have the potential to be $10k weeks) and say, "My mom's nagging at me, so I need to take a week off and go see her," leaving my department with no one who knows what the hell they are doing? 'Cause that wouldn't get me fired....

Part of the problem of course, is that I haven't told my mom about our financial struggles until now, because frankly, I'm a big girl and I don't need to tell my mommy all of my troubles. It's not like she would help anyway. So she really has no idea how bad things are right now and when I try to tell her, she doesn't really listen because it doesn't go with what she wants to hear.

I brought up the fact that we haven't been back to see my husband's family since the kiddo was 5, (she's 13 now!) and all I got was, "Well that's different because it costs thousands of dollars to go see them!" But really, it's not. $500 vs $5000, it's all the same when you don't have it. And the fact still remains that we've not seen anyone but my mother in law in much longer than my mother has gone without a visit.

I feel she's being very selfish, and trying to make me feel selfish in return, that good ol' Catholic guilt trip. At some point I am going to send her an email, because obviously I can't talk to her on the phone about this without both of us getting upset. As far as she is concerned, she's right and a good daughter would fall in line and come visit. As far as I am concerned, winter is coming and all of the good bridges are already taken, and I really have no desire to live under one anyway, which is what happens if I lose my job. Or Gods forbid, we move in with my mother!

Still dry, for now

Our first sign of serious trouble was when the school district sent everyone home at 11 am Thursday, due to concerns that roads would soon be impassible. Since then, we watched the river rise, first in Estes Park.

To the right is one of only 3 main roads to Estes Park. Totally gone, thanks to flooding. (Click on the photo to see the damage full size!) The town of Estes is pretty much inaccessible, with the other 2 main roads crumbling as well. The only way in or out is over Trail Ridge Road, which the National Park Service is keeping open despite snowfall, just so emergency services have a way in and out. Unfortunately, that's one heck of a detour!

Then they had to release excess water down the Big Thompson which combined with the constant rain, and things went even more wrong, as you can see by the photo of the Narrows part of the canyon.

From the canyon the water raced through Loveland itself, flowing over farmland and neighborhoods alike.

Eventually, the water overran I-25, just south of town this morning. This is the main route in and out of Loveland, Eventually, the entire interstate closed from Denver to the Wyoming border. Crazy when the interstate becomes a river! At that point, every route into Loveland from the south was cut off, due to topped or destroyed bridges.

The river continues to rush east, into Greeley, taking out a trailer park and heading for the Platte River, into which most of them eventually flow.

National Guard helicopters are evacuating residents from areas that are inaccessible.

And unfortunately, more rain is predicted for the weekend.

But thankfully, we are high and dry, safe and well. We send our positive thoughts to those that are out of their homes or have lost their homes, as well as our gratitude for the amazing fire & police, sheriff, State Patrol and National Guard folks out there rescuing people and keeping us safe. Also, a huge shout out for the Searcfh & Rescue folks that have come in from Nebraska & Utah to help out. Bless you all!

In Limbo

Still haven't heard back from the job I applied for. I asked my old boss if it had been filled internally since I hadn't heard anything by Wednesday. He told me they still had a few people to interview so hopefully I will hear something, one way or the other this week. *Sigh*

Meanwhile, I at least had a 3 day weekend so that got me outta there for a bit, and I took a 1/2 day Tuesday, because really, I was in a pissy mood and just needed to. It's hard when your job depends on working with people in a polite and friendly manner and you just want to smack them upside the head. I'm tired of being in a crappy mood all the time :(

Changes?

I have a second interview today. Something just came up out of the blue and I feel like I have to go for it. Recently one of my former bosses quit our company and went to work for another one. He told me he would steal me if something came up. But knowing that he'll most likely be taking a position in another state with this new company soon, I didn't really think much of it. Well, he sent me a text the other day telling me that one of the local locations had a full time position and would I be interested, oh and by the way, the position starts at $100/week more than you are making after nearly 5 years with your current company. And there's potential for promotion, unlike with the current company. I'm at a dead end where I am at right now, and frustrated with the lack of incentive to stay.

I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, since I know there are people within the company that are after the same spot, and J is new with that company, so I don't know how much weight his opinion holds. But I think the second interview is a positive sign. We'll see. And it doesn't hurt anything to try.

Meanwhile, my current company is falling apart around me. Not my location so much, but my hubby's. It is in major turmoil. No one is happy with the new boss. He totally took credit for everyone's hard work and a bunch of things that were already in place before he even started with the company. There are maybe three people at his location that are actually doing their jobs, the rest just feel entitled to a paycheck for doing nothing. And one of the three is about to turn in his notice. I told my hubby that he needs to stop working so damned hard because everyone is taking advantage. He's doing stuff that isn't in his job description, which is leaving what he's supposed to be doing undone. I wish now that I had never recommended him for the job. He was almost better off at Wal-Hell, even working overnights :(

Not much to say

Work sucks. I'm totally burned out and fed up with the company I work for. They seem to have decided that short term goals are more important that long term benefits and it's just stupid.

Not too long ago, they announced that they were doing away with the position of Assistant Manager and Customer Service Lead at all but the busiest stores and implementing a new position that combined the two in an effort to improve customer service. Huh? The theory being that this would free up some payroll so we could have more people on the floor.

All of the people that were in danger of being made redundant were to be assessed and the position given to the best candidate. As it would be the number two spot in the store, the new position carries more responsibility than CSL, so more pay was discussed. Everyone who assessed poorly would be given a severance package. Including out CSL. I was inline to get the new spot, my last, best chance to move up with this company since the removal of the AM position.

Three days before the changes were going to take place, someone finally did the math and realized that with so many of the CSLs assessing poorly they would be paying out a huge amount of money. Cue the 180 degree flip. All CSLs were automatically given the new position and since they are calling it a sideways move, there's no pay increase. So now we have a TON of poorly assessed people as the second in charge in a TON of stores. And me still in my little corner.

Which I thought I was ok with, because I really did like my job. But now I just feel bitter and annoyed and frankly, taken advantage of. All.The.Fucking.Time.

Meanwhile, the things I said months ago to my current boss are starting to come to pass. General Managers who have been with the company for years and got screwed over this year by this and other company wide fuck ups, are starting to leave. My old GM, who I loved to death got screwed one too many times, lied to too many times, and just left to go work with a company that has a long term vision promoting growth, not penny pinching. I see his former AM, now a GM in her own store, heading that way soon too, but time will tell.

Oh and the mythical payroll that was supposed to increase customer service by putting more people on the floor? Dried up. Good luck finding someone on the floor to help you unless we're working freight.

I give them until July to prove me wrong in my theory that they're going to drive the company into the ground in pursuit of the almighty dollar. That's when I get my yearly review and normally, a pay increase. If I don't get one, they can blow me.

Closing up shop?

Thinking about closing down the ol' blog. I just don't post very often anymore and frankly don't have a lot to say lately. Life's kind of boring here ;)

Actually, there's a lot of stuff going on in my life, but I have to be vague when discussing it, 'cause I don't want to have the internet come back and bite me on the arse!

Work has cut operating hours drastically. My work hours have stayed the same, and my job is safe, thankfully, but not everyone has been so lucky. DH and I work for the same company, different positions in different locations. Hubby's job is being made redundant, as well as another position, though he's not supposed to know it yet. Lucky for us, my boss has a big mouth and told me what was happening, so of course I told my DH. He went to his boss and said something. After his boss got over being surprised that my hubby knew what was happening, the good news is, he's pretty much guaranteed that he'll get the position that is being created to take the place of the two that are going away, if he wants it. But it's not really his cup of tea, so he's looking further afield, too.

Anyhoo, not real sure where I'm going to go with this blog over the next year. We'll wait and see a bit.

Time keeps slippin', slippin' away!

Where in the heck does time go?? How can it possibly be Thanksgiving week already? And why didn't my boss listen to me when I nagged him to order our Black Friday shirts last month?

For those of you in a hurry to get t-shirts for an event, DON'T order from 6dollartshirts. They may be cheap, but they ain't fast! Their website says they ship within 2 days, but the fine print says it can take up to 2 weeks. And guess what?
Ours have taken longer than that. I think we are screwed. I plan to try and contact them today, but even then, it's Monday and we need them by Wednesday now. I'm very annoyed, to say the least.

I am very ready for BF to be over with. As always! But at least hubby doesn't work for the Evil Empire anymore. I still can't believe they are opening at 8 PM on Thanksgiving. Greedy fuckers. Sad thing is, there will be a ton of people there to shop. I will be at home, secure in the knowledge that G no longer has to jump to their tune ;) I urge everyone to stay home, enjoy your families and worry about Christmas shopping another day. Don't give the Evil Empire cause to entirely forego Thanksgiving next year, because that's the way things are heading.

I will be giving thanks this year for my family and the jobs that we have in these unsettled times.

And now for something completely different....

I had very strange, sad, dreams last night. I dreamed that my old cats, Merry & Merlin had gotten out and gotten lost. I was so sad. I put up flyers and went around calling for them. Eventually I looked out the window and Merlin was curled up outside. When I ran out to get him Merry came out of the bushes too. Then I woke up in tears.

Maybe it was talking to my mom last night about her dogs and my sister's dogs that made me miss having animals around. Whatever it is, I still feel sad this morning and miss my kitties. I hear the geese on the lake out back and think how much they would have loved this place, with its sliding glass doors looking out over the lake and wide window ledges, perfect for a cat to watch the world go by or just sun itself.

But then the selfish part of me says, who wants to clean a litter box? And where would we put it? We cat sat for a week for a co-worker and the only place to put the box was the master bathroom. Waking up every morning and stepping in grainy cat litter was not fun.

But oh I miss the cuddles. The warmth of a cat curled in my lap, purring away. Lying in bed with a cat on my chest, determined to get one last cuddle before her human goes to sleep. *Sigh*

Changes

My brother is facing some HUGE changes in the next few weeks. Apparently turning 50 and having her babies all leave the nest has made my sister decide that she must take charge of our older brother. He recently lost his job and doesn't have many prospects right now, so being my pushy older sister, she informed him (I wasn't involved so I'm just speculating from the bits I got from my mother, but this is my sister so it's probably close to the truth, lol) that he was moving to Iowa and they would let him live in their basement.

Now, my big brother has been living on his own in Florida for well over 25 years. He's a big boy, but he does have some problems. He suffered a brain injury many, many, many years ago in a car accident and after that began to self-medicate. Also, the part of his brain that was injured is the bit that controls emotions, so he has some anger management issues (which is what caused him to lose the job). So the fact that my sister is pushing him into a brain injury support group could actually be a positive thing. And I don't see my brother in law standing for any self-medicating in his home, either, plus this gets my bro away from his cronies. So again, a good thing.

But holy smokes! Move the guy from Florida back to Iowa, just in time for winter! Poor man is going to freeze his you-know-whats off! Especially living in the basement!

So I decided I would knit him a cap to at least keep his head warm. Something manly, that he might actually wear, hahaha. Viola! The ribbed beanie! We won't tell him it's called a beanie. I waffled between this pattern and a Watch Cap, but I think I like the simplicity of this one more. It's knit in bulky weight yarn, so should be a fairly quick knit. And it will be washable, so that makes it easy on him to care for it.