Beware of Karma

My DH has the flu. If you read my previous post, you know that I'm torn between feeling bad for him, and being smug. Smug is winning. He's being very good about my smugness--probably because he deserves it. My ThYO and I are almost fully recovered--just an annoying lingering cough. DH should cross the hump today and the Baby...well he has a nasty runny nose and a cough, but no other noticeable symptoms.

I don't want to be housebound anymore!

Nothing can undermine the kinetics of a stay-at-home mom's home like the flu.

This was the week that the youth did their performance. Two dress rehearsals and three performances of Narnia. My job with costuming was done, but I was needed to help with make up--it seems I was the only person who actually had heard of Spirit gum. Anyway, I started the week with some guilty thoughts because I was going to be absent five nights. My husband would have to take on the childcare duties 100% in the evening (though now that I think about it that was only 2 hours a day)

My kiddos had been battling coughs and runny noses the previous week, so it came as no surprise when my throat started tickling on Tuesday. I felt fine, I just had a tickle. I watched the dress rehearsal, helped with costume changes and wondered why my back hurt so much. And why I was so cold. By the time I got home, I knew I was running a fever.

The next day was a blur. The kids are still alive, so I assume I fed them. I know I went to the grocery store, so they must have been dressed. No practice that night. When DH got home I had such glazed eyes he granted me his royal permission to escape to bed.

Thursday: Took ThYO to preschool. He complains of stomachache but whatever he has doesn't compare with my battle for consciousness. He goes anyway. When I pick him up at lunch, he is crying and saying he's sick. Since he hadn't even eaten the cookie I put in his lunch, I know it's bad. The heat is radiating off him. The baby is tossed in his crib and ThYO and I take a nap together, gleaning warmth off eachother and hoping for someone to knock us out until March. I have to get to the church for opening night, dragging the kids with me (DH started a new job so they have to be with me for a half hour or so). ThYO is a trooper and just huddles on the floor next to me hoping no one talks to him. I wish I could do the same.

This is when I find out that the flu has been spreading through the youth. Purex and kleenex are everywhere. Knowing I was already sick, I took extra precautions with my make-up apps, but I am lining many glazed eyes and coughing lips.

Husband picks up kids and asks if I really think ThYO is sick when he sees my drug instructions. He's lucky the pastor is in the room.

Friday: I had previously arranged to not go to the play today. It's datenight for me and my ThYO. We have tickets to a circus performance. I give them away. No possible way we will feel good enough to go. Instead we huddle on the couch together watching a Disney movie while dad cooks a meal we don't eat and whines about how tired he is because my coughing and sneezing are keeping him up at night. He offers to go to the store and asks what I need. I need Nyquil. We've had none and I haven't been able to get to the store. He tells me he always has some in his Dopp kit. The thought crosses my mind that if he's had it all this time, then why the heck didn't he offer me some. He had plenty of opportunity with my keeping him up all night.

Saturday--I'm over the hump. I can see light. I'm not quite able to reach it but I know it's there. I discover that my baby is still alive and happy, despite the extra naps "he's" been forced to take. I climb the mountain of laundry, dishes, and kleenex. I am able to go to the show with a brave face and learn that two of the leads are sick. We all push through and the show is over. When I get home, Husband tells me he took a mini road trip with the kids because he has had too much childcare this week, oh, and the baby seems warm. I ask my husband how he's feeling. He says "I'm fine. I just have a tickle in my throat, but I'm sure it will go away."

Yes Honey, I'm sure it will. Eventually. Remember to buy more Nyquil.

Productivity

My needles are flying. I'm at the point where I am almost finished with a couple projects and past the halfway point with others. I'm in stash reduction mode these days. I'm finding super quick knits so I can plow through those random stash skeins that I don't love. And I am brainstorming ideas for the skeins that I do love. Shockingly, I haven't purchased yarn yet this year.

On the needles:

• The VK corset-take 2
• Hot pants (everything has a story)
• The Denim sweater
• Dale of Norway cardigan
• Dale of Norway snowflake sweater
• sock monkey sock
• random halter top I may or may not submit to Knitty
• EZ Raglan sweater in boucle
• Summer Gameday sweater

The above are the first ten that came to mind.

Completed:

• Sweater for ThYO
• Berry blue socks
• WA to CO stole (deserving of a post in it's own right)
• A couple hats

Not a bad month.

Knead help

I enjoy cooking. I read cookbooks like they were novels and I especially like to find a complicated recipe and spend several hours preparing it. I also love recipes that have an air of experimentation about them.

Enter breadmaking.

I would not consider myself a breadmaker. I enjoy making bread and I especially like eating good bread, but I wouldn't consider myself an expert. But I do have fun experimenting.

Yesterday I went to Whole Foods out of curiosity and while I walked past the bread racks I heard something. "Psst. Look at me. You need me. Take me home."

It was the ciabatta. Well, obviously this bread already had superpowers so it was not a surprise to me to find that this same loaf ended up in the car with me. My kids and I splurged on this spectacular, chewy creation with a wonderful crust. What was left of the loaf met my husband and even he, Wonder-White boy, enjoyed it. Oh if only I could make this at home.

Can anyone help? When I make bread the interior tends to be full of tiny air pockets of uniform size, not the large, uneven holes this bread consisted of. This bread had a chewy texture that rivaled the best crumpets. What is the secret? Sourdough starter? Have it. A different combo of flours? I'll try it. I just don't want to end up baking hundreds of unimpressive loaves in order to achieve this perfection.

Common Courtesy

I went to my knitting group earlier this week and pulled out the project I had decided to work on that evening--a sleeveless pullover (from Vogue Knitting of course) worked vertically in a seed stitch pattern. I selected green, yellow and beige easy-to-clean (translation: crappy acrylic) yarn. I intend to wear it to early Fall football games.

Anyway, one of the ladies there took one look at it and said "Wow, that's really ugly!"

Is it just me or was this rude? There are several character traits about this woman I appreciate: she is a productive knitter, she has some really great hints and tips, (wooly nylon to reinforce socks? Genius.) she doesn't concern herself with society's standards...ahh...this could be the problem. While it is commendable to march to the beat of a different drummer, there are some aspects of society that should be if not obeyed, at least respected.

• People should always be treated with dignity.
• Please and thank you should be habitual
• IF YOU CAN'T SAY SOMETHING NICE, DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL. But try to find something nice to say

You can still be an individual and make room for some common courtesy. Opinions are great, but why hurt someone needlessly? (okay I wasn't exactly hurt) I'm smart enough to know that if anyone simply comments on how nice my stitches look that they really don't care for the entire effect. But that's fine. It's what makes us interesting.

***and she steps off the soapbox***

The Spice Rack

I love my spice rack.

A few years ago, Real Simple magazine had an article about the best spice rack. Their solution involved purchasing watchmaker cases from Lee Valley Hardware and using them for spices. The medium aluminum cases hold fifteen watchmaker cases each. I have four of them, plus one case of twelve larger cases for larger whole spices (cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, star anise, etc.).

Of course they are in alphabetical order (I'm an organizer) and the whole stack of them can fit into a kitchen drawer. No pilfering in a dark cabinet, or wading through a million identical jars for me. I simply find the proper case, open the needed spice, and I am good to go. As for he frequent spices. I buy in bulk, keep them in a dark corner and refill as needed.

To my delight, a Penzey's Spice Store opened in the Denver area. It's not close, but I do end up in Denver on occasion and it's as convenient as anything else. I'm pleased to say my spice racks are full.

The Man I Love--Recap...er..Resock?

The Kool-Aid socks. I knitted the foot using EZ's arch-shaped stockings, and the legs are a small feather-and-fan pattern.

Hell Froze.

I was knitting a pair of socks in my improved Kool-Aid colored yarn and when I finished them and showcased them for my husband he asked "Are you going to knit me some socks now?"

I almost fell over. Granted I was standing on one foot with my other foot fairly close to his face, but does he actually want me to knit him socks?

I still wonder if he may have been kidding, however, I have a bunch of wool he chose for his stocking and nothing better to do with it. And I can use the practice.

Resolution Check-in

So I feel obligated to share with the public the progress I have been making in weight loss.

All of the bad food is out of the house, with the exception of a couple snacks that only my husband will eat (I am not a salty snack fiend). I cleaned out some stuff at the beginning of the month, and anything I caught myself snacking on after that was immediately thrown out (pudding snacks).

I have walked thirty minutes a day everyday this month but 2. I walk extra to catch up on days I miss. LOVE podcasting! The goal is to increase my activity level a notch and make it a habit.

After reading O magazine, I hid my scale. I cheated on the 15th and weighed myself. The result of which made me put the scale in hiding again and berate myself for doing such a thing.

I have not focused on portion control (February's goal). Which I assume explains why...

...I HAVE GAINED FIVE POUNDS!!!...

GRRRRR

Earlier I had mentioned my lust for knitting was waning. A phenomenon that was about one year late in coming. I have several other hobbies (how will I ever motivate myself to join the workforce again?) and one or another is always on the forefront.

So I decided to volunteer my sewing skills for a youthgroup's Spring play. They are doing Narnia and needed more that just the standard blue bathrobe, three crowns, and fifty+ angel costumes that usually fill a church costume closet. I have made furry pants, a hat for Father Christmas, four coronation cloaks, a lion tail and a lion mane (that one I knitted). I'll also help with some make-up.

I love costuming and I probably would have volunteered anyway, but my main motivation was to use my other talents intentionally and see if my knitting muse came back.

I think it might have worked.

The Best Dressed and Beast Tressed

1. Baby-After haircut
2. Baby before haircut
3. ThYO wearing new sweater
   
   
   

My babies hit a couple milestones this weekend:

I managed to knit my ThYO a sweater with some leftover yarn. I had some bulky stuff lying around and several worsted wools that happened to coordinate. I doubled up the worsted and pulled out my Size 13s on Friday, and Sunday afternoon my son had a new striped sweater. He's not into choosing his own clothing yet, so we're still able to make him wear it. It also used up FIVE balls from my stash. Yeah!

My baby got his first hair cut. My sweet, angelic, goosedown-head got all his fluffy locks hacked off. My husband has been nagging me to do it for several months and I did it last night for DH's birthday. Now his heritage is very evident and I can't help but think he resembles his WWII German ancestors.

The Electric Koolaid Acid Test

When I think about it, I spend alot of time knitting things that are not actually "projects." If I see a technique or tip, I'll knit a swatch to try it.

So enter http://www.knitpicks.com. They have good quality, good variety and some great fibers, including silk blends, alpaca, and cashmere. And they are CHEAP!

My only problem with Knitpicks is their colors. I always feel the colors are a little more 'vibrant' than I envision. Such is the nature of online purchases.

Needless to say, I went on a spending spree about a year ago and ended up with several skeins of Knitpicks. Some of it is sock yarn and I decided I wanted to make socks this month.

After knitting almost an entire sock I realized I did not like the color of this yarn and I seriously debated whether I continue wasting my time knitting these things that I would never wear, and what should I do with the other SEVEN skeins (don't ask) of sockweight merino.

Inspiration struck. Knitpicks has an article about dyeing yarn with Koolaid. What would another buck or two matter, right? I tried Berry blue for one skein and Blckcherry for another skein. I love the results. I would actually wear (socks in) this color.

Koolaid. Who would have thought? I wonder if the faint smell of artificial cherry will go away.

A New Hobby

I have discovered Podcasting!

My DH got me an iPod Nano for Mother's Day last year. He had just purchased a new car that was "MP3 equiped." We thought it would be fun to have it in the car and hey, if it got me on the treadmill more power to it.

I liked my iPod. It was a fun little toy and I dutifully spent a few days setting up iTunes. And I would listen to it while doing my walk. But I only would listen to music. I assumed Podcasts were simply radio shows and didn't understand why I would even want to listen to them. You know, sort of like blogging.

A couple weeks ago I was at my knitting group and one of the women there had recieved an iPod for Christmas. She was talking about how she wasn't really a music person but she loved podcasts. What? Why? She said one thing--NPR--and my mind was off and running.

Whaddya Know?, The Splendid Table, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. I can now listen to all the shows I love but don't often get to hear. Why didn't I discover this before? I also discovered so many other options. Want to learn a new language? There's a podcast for it. Have a hobby? There's probably a podcsat for it. Books in the public domain? The list goes on and on.

Now my only problem is this: I can't listen to The Splendid Table on the treadmill. I need a pad of paper next to me so I can write down all those foodie notes. But that's what knitting is for. I can have paper next to me while I knit.

My Muse

There is a disturbance in the force.

I can slowly feel my motivation to knit waning. To be replaced by some other creative endeavor.

Now this is by no means unusual for me. In fact this knitting trance lasted over a year and a half--a record in itself. I'm simply waiting for my next inspiration to strike.

The knitting will always be there. It will be the background noise until it feels like stepping out again.

On vacuuming

A little less than a year ago I got a new vacuum cleaner.

Seven years previously, I got my first vacuum cleaner as a wedding gift. I used it a couple times in our apartment. That was before kids and outdoor hobbies and when we were almost never actually at home, so an occasional once-over of the carpet was adequate. Perhaps I would have done it more often but this particular model had this noise. It seemed about twice as loud as an ordinary vacuum and there was this underlying tone that irritated me. By irritated I mean I was filled with anger when I used it AND I had that sort of pain that really isn't pain that comes when your ears have a momentary high-pitched ringing. You think "ouch" but you don't really hurt. I realize now, I could have taken it in and replaced with a model that worked correctly, but at the time I just dealt with it.

So the years passed by, we moved to a state that encouraged us to play outdoors. We had children, we had mud and leaves and dust. Our floors demanded more attention, but I didn't want to use our old machine.

Finally I broke down. There was a great sale and I had a coupon. I got the kind that lets you see exactly how much dirt you have in your floors. There was no bag and it made a normal noise while in use.

I loved it. I still do but it took me a full week to get just my main floor in decent shape. I was sucking enormous amounts of...it was nasty. The bags I would empty the canister into actually had heft. YUCK.

This is what we had been living in.

So now I have a different house. A house that has been occupied by a bachelor for seven years.

He must have had the same crappy vacuum I had.

Resolutions

Happy New Year.

I have started to follow Dr Oz's You on a Diet. One of the suggestions is that I have a buddy to share my new, healthy lifestyle with. My SIL is my buddy. And we're off...

My goals for January:

• 30 minutes of walking EVERY DAY
• To not purchase any food with trans fat, processed sugar or white flour.
• To take my multivitamin every day

February will bring more changes, I'm starting with these.

Almost Auld Lang Syne

Today is pajama day. Every couple weeks or so, I declare a day of no obligation and we all wear our pajamas all day. We hang out and know that we have no reason to schlep around the town. Of course the recent snowstorm helped this a bit.

I have been thinking about resolutions lately. I have a mission to lose some weight (I am at least 60 pounds too heavy) and I intend to make it my resolution this year. So then comes the devil's advocate--Resolutions are made to be broken, willpower runs out in February, etc.

I have a formula (this is the mathy, organized side of me coming out). Every week I will add a new habit. I have started (albiet early) to walk on my treadmill for 30 minutes every day.

Wish me luck.

Christmas

I have mentioned before that I am an organized person. I start my Christmas preparations very early. The goal is to have the week before Christmas devoted to stocking stuffers, which is fun for me.

I was fairly successful this year. My SIL usually arranges with the parents to not do a gift exchange because there are several birthdays this time of year and it hits the budget hard. With two mortgages this year, we were more than eager to jump on the band wagon.

So how do you handle this? Two weeks ago we went to visit and celebrate FIL's birthday and the parents showered us with wrapped presents. They said they were tired of not buying presents and wanted to get us gifts. We appreciate the thought...

So now what?
We closed on our house so they know we now have some cashflow again.
They gave us the gifts two weeks early, and they are coming up on Christmas day.

Of course we will get them something, in fact we got the gifts yesterday. I just question their and honestly, our motives. And I really resented having to do the shopping so close to Christmas time.

I know everyone in the US is tired of the commercialism of Christmas. I know my rants are unoriginal. I also know I hate the pressure of finding the perfect gift for someone. My mother was surprisingly hard to shop for this year. And I am still not sure my ThYO will like his gift from Santa.

He really wanted a lego train this year, but with a one-year old in the house, Santa really can't bring one of those. We have explained this and he seems to understand but he looks at the picture so longingly. I know we're doing the right thing, we found him a toy we think he will like but it's so hard knowing he's going to be disappointed.

On the flip side, we also know he will play with his little brother's toys and completely disregard the fact that they're baby toys.

And as for stocking stuffers, the budget has run dry.

List of projects: December 2006

Projects on the needles
Debbie bliss denim cardigan
Dale Heilo cardigan from VK several years ago
Dale of Norway sweater I saw in magazine and decided to knit myself rather than buy for $400.00--this project itself needs a blog, maybe tomorrow.
Big, stole/shawl garment
Summer gameday sweater

Projects off the needles
Winter game day sweater
Lace stocking originally for me, but will give to my mom.

When fame goes to your head

It has come to my attention that someone actually reads my blog. I have a groupie.

Granted, I told her about my blog and she checks in just to see what I'm up to, but I still feel guilty for not blogging for a month. Bad me.

I'm dreaming of...

Well, I got my white christmas this year. In fact I got enough to make up for at least the past four years.

We probably got about two feet with this last storm. The kicker is the wind, which produced a few drifts. Some of which are over seven feet tall!

As the city was inoperable, everyone was outside yesterday shoveling and fraternizing. By mid-afternoon, the sun was out, the air was fairly warm and everyone on my block was sitting out in camp chairs swapping favorite brews (lemonade for the kids). Classic college town in action.

I decided to leave the house today with me kids to do some last minute shopping, and promptly got stuck in our street. Apparently my humble neighborhood is not high on the snowplow list.

A little perseverence (and a husband who works from home) got me out on my way. Luckily the main streets were dry. It's the parking lots that are sad. I swear the Home Depot lot rivaled the moguls of Vail.