Bad Parenting Ahead

I just got my Ravelry invite.

Do you think if I leave out a box of Kix and some opened bottles of water for the girls they can take care of themselves tomorrow??

:)

Woah Nelly!

We had a beautiful weekend here in sunny, but not too hot yet, Florida. Wayne took Friday and Monday off and we ended up having a lot of family fun.



Friday: We spent the morning at the movies watching Shrek the Third - not the #1 choice of part 3 movies I wanted to see, but Ali's too little for Pirates. I maintain that the first Shrek movie was funny and that no subsequent films should have been made. But the gingerbread man makes it almost worthwhile.



Saturday: Letterboxing Gathering!! We met up with some Central Florida 'boxing friends at Hontoon Island State Park. There were cooties and hide n' seek boxes that made the rounds while we exchanged stamps with our new friends. The cutest were pencil topper cooties.





Group photo - note Ali and I making the same silly face, we are not a family of many silly faces. This is the go to face. :)

We had the baby backpack so soon after we arrived, the four of us headed out to find the 2 boxes not on the Nature Trail. First box, no problem, everyone was happy, it was a short hike. Hooray! Second box, different story. I didn't read the clue as thoroughly as necessary and we wasted a lot of time looking around off the wrong trail. Wayne intervened and got it sorted out though and hooray again! However by this point we were like 2 miles from our starting point and none of us had brought any water.



We started back and I stopped to look for another box that was on the way back telling Wayne we'd meet back up at the campsite (1/2 way back). I gave up on the box pretty quickly, desiring water more than the box, and hustled to catch up with Wayne. But Wayne wasn't at the campsite, so I hustled some more to catch up with him.



I am not a hustler.



By the time I made it back to the pavilion I was wiped out. We rested a bit and ate a little lunch - the famous Target sandwiches. We got to meet a few more 'boxers who'd arrived late. And in order to be able to leave at a decent hour, we headed back out to find the 6 boxes along the hiking trail.



At this point, I'd like to mention that we had walked close to 5 miles. All I had eaten all day was 1 piece of raisin bread and half a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread. One of the basic things you learn when you're diabetic is that the more you exercise, the lower your sugars go. For instance, when I cycle, I bring a carb-rich snack and eat it halfway through my ride. I very rarely go low.



We started out the hiking trail and I wasn't feeling 100% but figured I could tough it out. About a mile in, Ali was starting to complain, I was starting to ache all over and we decided to start back (so we wouldn't die in the woods), no boxes found. Wayne said we could always go back another day. We sat down to rest and when I stood up I was seeing spots. I didn't say anything, but tried to keep my head down and put one foot in front of the other. Low, low sugar.



I made it to the end of the nature trail, but just barely. Wayne and the girls left me at the end of the trail and went back down the road to the ranger station to have someone drive out to get me. The ranger came quickly and Wayne had a Coke for me when I got back. After a lot of genral confusion and Coke drinking, we said our goodbyes and headed home.



Needless to say, I will not hike almost 7 miles in one day again without a lot more sugar. It took all day Sunday to recover all the way. Ick.



Monday: Swimming and BBq with my parents and then Eve's goodbye dinner. Yummy food, sad sad occasion.



Not a lot of knitting, but a little more progress on Wicked, a little more progress on my Sockapalooza socks. I was also having some tennis elbow issues which have slowed me down - I think that was caused by the stitches getting too tight on my circ for Wicked, now I'm knitting it on 2 circs which is a lot more comfortable.

Happy Hats

Penny's hats made it safely to Colorado and Aileen promises modeled pics as soon as Penny gets here - ETA late-July, early-August. :)

The Tagging

Is a little overwhelming, but I have been tagged a few times for the meme of the week - 7 weird things about me. Here are the details, post 7 weird things, tag 7 other people to do it on their blogs. I've done a lot of these, plus a round of 100 things, so instead of thinking up 7 completely random things, I've decided mine will all be food related.

1. I *heart* butterscotch pudding.

2. I will eat Cool*Whip right out of the tub, Wayne says this is disgusting, I say this is delicious.

3. I love plain popcorn. No butter, no salt. Although they are occasionally good. :)

4. My favorite part of a baked potato is the skin. Sometimes I eat more of the skin than the inside.

5. I worked as a cashier in a grocery store in high school. To this day I quiz myself on produce codes when I go through the self-checkout.

6. I don't eat those freezy-pops that come in the plastic sleeves, I used to cut my lips on them as a kid and now I'm scared of them.

7. I prefer my PopTarts cold.

I'm not going to officially tag anyone, but please feel free to get in on it if you'd like. :) Leave a comment though so I can check it out.

Don't Dream It's Over

Did you watch HEROES last night?? It was awesome. Even if you walked away thinking, "well, they could have . . .", look at it this way, there's always next season. And in the hierarchy of season/series finales that we've been assaulted by this week, this one ranks very high. (Do you watch L&O:CI?? What was that?? And ER?? I'm not very invested in "New Dr.", I may not even watch next season. I could go on . . .)

Last week was a little crazy as ye olde Expedition was out of commission again. Luckily it turns out that one of the ignition coils that was recently replaced was just bad and the mechanic fixed it for free. :)

We did however make it to Disney's Animal Kingdom with the wonderful Eve on Wednesday. What a great day we had! The weather was pretty tame most of the day and the girls were in great form. We didn't take a lot of pictures, but the girls got some sticker pictures at the Rainforest Cafe - these were our third attempt. Girls are wiggly.



This weekend I made a big purchase for myself - I got an elliptical machine! For my house! Sayonara gym! I love that I can just hop on for 15 minutes while children are busy with playing or naps. No loading of children, no checking them into the questionably safe kid care, no gawkers. I love it! Maybe now I can start to drop some weight.

You may notice the strategic placement of the elliptical in front of the AC vent, I'm no dummy. :)



This weekend I had the opportunity to cast on and begin my Wicked. I really like the crossover pattern in the collar and have started the dreaded increases. I need to take a day or two off from this to put in some much needed Sockapolooza sock work and to make some invites for my sister's baby shower. See that cutie stitchmarker, you can get some too, that spell your name, go here.

Stash

Robin asked us to flash our stash for our SP group. I hope I win.

p.s. Ravelry, I'm ready for you. You may pick me now. :)

Woo hoo!

Happy belated Mother's Day to all those Mommys out there in blogland. Mine was spectacular! Even though Wayne didn't get home from working until 2AM on Saturday night, he got up and he and Alison made me chocolate chip pancakes. What was even better is that they did it quietly ("With whispers Mommy") and I was actually suprised when they came in to wake me. :)

Since I'd already ordered myself a gift I didn't expect Wayne to announce I could have whatever I wanted when we stopped at the mall after a lovely lunch. I thought shoes. But not Blahniks or Choos, Crocs. I've been coveting the cutie-Mary Jane style ones for a while, but haven't been able to spend the $35 on myself. After a quick trip to Journeys, where I was almost dissuaded by some Keds, I had happy, happy feet.

We spent the evening at my parent's where with just a little bit of side dish help from me, my younger sister served an amazing Mom-loving dinner. The husbands helped out too, but Wayne was concentrating on being super-Dad and didn't pitch in as much with the dishes.

And on Monday when we got home from dance class, I had MAIL!! Check out this tower of packages.



On the top is the rest of Nicole's birthday present ordered all the way from Alaska on etsy. It's a surprise so I can't give any more details this minute.

The middle is my Mother's Day gift to me! My Peace Fleece and ZephyrStyle Wicked pattern from kpixie!!!

Love!!!

Hopefully today I will be doing some swatching. O yes, there will be swatching for this project, it is going to be perfect.



The last box is the Sisterhood of the Travelling Stash box #2!!! I can't even explain how amazing it was to unload this box. Emily and I got straight to work - we covered my entire king-sized bed with yarn!! Then Emily had some other ideas for the box while I caressed and snuggled it all. It was hard to make decisions, but I only have a week to get it in the mail, so I'm trying to give myself a lot of time to make it to the post office.



And lastly, the knitting has been slow, but consistent. I started a Water Bottle Sling from Amy Singer's Knit Whit. It's essentially a sock, but with no heel. It will probably take a while, we all know how slow I am at socks. And a few more rounds have made their way onto my Janet Lace Shawl. My concentration has been low lately and I don't want mess it up so I don't knit on it everyday.

Okay, actually lastly, Heroes was awesome last night! Does anyone know of any Heroes-themed crafts that are fairly reproducible and not too time consuming???

. . . Letters

Dear Wayne,

Hello my love! Thanks for working so hard. Thanks for still remembering that this Sunday is Mother's Day. Thanks for saying you'll make time to take the girls shopping on Saturday, even if you have to work too.

However, there will be no need to go shopping. I have purchased a bit of a gift myself. I found some yarn and a pattern and what can I say? You're very generous. How generous?? Well, let's just say that not knowing will be the part of the gift that gives back to you.

Love,
Your wife who was only momentarily more in love with this yarn than you :)

---

Dear Bank:

Thank you for sending me a new Visa checkcard before the old one expired.

I can only hope that the new number will not be memorized quickly and will instead deter impulsive yarn purchases that may be an embarassment to my family.

Sincerely,
Woman who will now have to get off her ass and find her card when Internet shopping binges attack

Holy Smoke!

This smoke is crazy!! Add a named tropical storm off the coast to two states on fire and you end up with a lot of inside playtime. And today we were going to blow up the little pool . . .

Yesterday the girls and I went up to the Rock Springs Run Reserve in North Seminole County to do some letterboxing. It was a nice day with a decent breeze (albeit smoky) and we had a map, compass and lots of water. Great, right? No, no, no. Instead we ended up wandering around in the woods for about 45 minutes and this momma was seriously worried we were lost on the "marked trails" for about half that time.

In the end we made it out of the woods, but instead of finding two boxes, we were only able to find one. I need to start doing a little research ahead of time, 'boxing on our own is fine in a park, but these wilderness areas are going to be the death of me.

For clarification purposes, yesterday I apparently wasn't too worried about smoke exposure, but this morning on the news they highly recommended not letting your children outside. I can take a recommendation.

After a visit to SuperTarget and the arrival of the mailman, we were all set up for some indoor fun.

Alison picked out a Princess Ariel watercolor painting set and Emily got her Happy Apple that I found on ebay. Did you have a Happy Apple when you were a baby?? I highly recommend them, they have the most beautiful, true chime-y sound ever. No new toy stacks up to it.

While at SuperTarget we cruised by the prepared deli sandwiches and they are yet another thing I highly recommend. For $2.99 I got an amazing turkey and havarti cheese sandwich on 8-grain bread! It was a delight for my tummy and very filling. Plus it was only $3!!! Go buy one and fill up your tummy too. :)

In knitting news, I'm working on a stack of quick projects for someone who is coming soon and can't show them off 'cause they're secret. The shawl has been getting a little action when I'm awake enough for lace knitting after the girls are in bed. I still need to sew the sushi onto the wallet. Finishing is a harsh mistress.

R2D2 Hat Recon

R2D2 Hat Recon

Karabella Aurora 8 (100% Extrafine Merino Wool, 98 yds. Per ball, 4.5 sts/inch)
Yarn A: Gray: Color #201
Yarn B: Blue: Color #23
Yarn C: Black: Color #1148

Size 7 16" circular needle

______
With Yarn A,
CO 90 sts.

Join and begin working in the round.
Rnds. 1 – 6: K1, P1 ribbing
Rnds. 7 – 8: Knit

Change to Yarn B:
Rnds. 9 –13: Knit

Change to Yarn A:
Knit Rnds. 14 – 34 (20 rounds)

Knit Chart 2 while noting the shaping below, decreases will fall in the middle of each color block:
Rnd. 35: Knit, carry yarn B across the 2 stitches of yarn A
Rnd. 36: K7, K2tog, *K13, K2tog, repeat from * to last 6 sts., K to end
Rnd. 37: Knit
Rnd. 38: K6, K2tog, *K12, K2tog, repeat from * to last 6 sts., K to end
Rnd. 39: Knit
Rnd. 40: K5, K2tog, *K11, K2tog, repeat from * to last 6 sts., K to end

With Yarn A, Knit Rnds. 41 & 42

With Yarn B, Knit Rnds. 43 & 44
Rnd. 45: K10, K2tog, repeat until end.
Rnd. 44: K9, K2tog, repeat until end.
Continue decreasing until 18sts remain.

With Yarn C, continue decreasing until 6 sts. remain.

Break yarn and draw through to close top. Weave in all ends.

Using duplicate stitch, stitch Chart 1.

CHART 1

Row 1 of CHART 2 for patterning

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This pattern is not my own doing entirely, the charts and basic idea came from Maria aka Shortstuff411 on craftster. She posted her version here and I've knit it before, but wanted to modify its size and try with the duplicate stitching idea. Try one or the other, heck, try them both and may the force be with you.

*Modeled by Nick, who does not have a rattail, although the picture makes it look that way. :)

Genius Walking . . .

I am crazy brilliant! Inspired by Lesley's bravado on the subject at NYGK the other night and overwhelmed by the amount of things I've committed to knit, this morning I taught myself to knit 2 socks at the same time! That's right readers, no more Second Sock Syndrome. Woo hoo!

I'm anxious to see how the heel is going to go, but for now, bliss!

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My sweet Emily has been rocking an icky cold all week - and I've experienced my first case of eye boogers as a Mom. Eeww. Anyway, she's happiest in a warm bath and is averaging about 2 a day since we just want to see her smile. Yesterday I took nakey baby pics. :)

I thought some fresh air may be just what the doctor ordered, and yesterday was the first relatively smoke-free* day we've had in a while, so we headed to Crane's Roost Park and enjoyed the beautiful day**. Alison took the opportunity to take some pictures of Spring.

And the knitting couldn't help but join in. Do you see that GoKnit pouch?? It's from my Secret Pal, I think I glossed over it in my thank you post. I love it! The first day I had it I was going to use it while at the Fair, well I got there and went to loop it onto my belt and, oops no belt loops. Since then it's spent quite a bit of time looped to the stroller. :)

Speaking on gifts, my great friend Carlin, a newish knitter, sent me my late-Christmas present. Vogue's Stitchionary 3!!! There are lots of great color motifs in here. As a flipped through it I was amazed how many times I thought to myself, I could put that on a sock. We'll see.

*The whole state of Georgia is on fire, I'm sure you've seen this on the news, all their smoke is blowing through Central Florida.

**It's nice out, but also in the very high 80s most days. Hot!

Promises, promises

I totally promise to post more - like did I really finish the Sushi Wallet?? What am I knitting now?? - but can't this minute. Instead I leave you with two links that may be the death of me. :)

All of my money may end up here

All of my time may go here