Merry Christmas!

I forgot to post this picture after I completed it. It's a Christmas gift for my sisters baby coming in March and I thought it would be nice to include a gift for the baby. The rest of the stuff I am making I will be giving her at the baby shower in February. Without further ado I present my Baby Starghan blanket:





I made alot of necklaces that have wire crocheted pendants almost like an amulet style. They are going to be for sale in my Etsy store sometime in the new year. The focus of my store is going to change toward crochet and woven pieces that are simple yet elegant in their style. I am so excited and I cant wait to show you all! After Christmas I will be posting pics of them. I dont want to do it now because they are gifts and that would mean ruining the surprise! Anyway, I have so much to do today and not enough time to do it. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!

Happy Blogoversary to Me!

It's been 3 years since I started this blog and I can't believe it seems like yesterday. I started it to keep a record of my experiences and treatment when I was going through cancer. After I was finished with my treatments I didn't want it to be the focus of my blog anymore. I decided to continue to blog about my life in general but also about my many other passions which include knitting, crocheting, beading, jewelry design and all around crafting! So here I am! I am hoping to blog a bit more this year and hopefully I will be successful in this endeavor. LOL Wish me luck. Maybe the next post will have some Disney World vacation pics if I can actually get them into the computer. Its a busy week here because I am supposed to start my new job on Thursday. I am a little nervous and excited about it. Thats something else I can blog about! Yes! See you all soon!

A New Year

WOW, its been a while since I posted but I do have some good excuses as to why I havent been here. There was the holidays and every one in my family excluding me was sick on a holiday. My son, as you know from a previous post was sick on Thanksgiving and in the hospital. My husband then was very sick before Christmas and I actually started an IV on him at home because the weather was so bad we couldnt get to the hospital. See there is a benefit from having two RN's in the house! After he had a chance to recover on Christmas Eve night my son starts to puke again and my husband has a relapse so we stayed home on Christmas Day. That was fine with me because my sister pulled some stupid stunt on Christmas Eve and I really didnt want her to ruin my Christmas. I cant just leave it at that now can I? OK, I will tell you what happened but I will make it fast because I have a lot to cover here. Here goes...

On Christmas Eve my family opens presents and those presents are all put under the tree. When it comes time to open them we all grab the ones with our names on it and bring them to the sunroom and open them up. My son grabbed the ones with his name on them and of course he was able to feel that one of them was a train. He is totally and completely obsessed with Thomas since he was 2 and thats OK with me. It can be much worse in my opinion. We dont own a Wii yet or an XBox so yes, it can be worse. Anyway my sister gets mad not once, not twice, not three times (you get the point) but at least 4 times and said to my son, "You're not opening THAT present tonight and if you dont put it down I am going to give it to another little boy who deserves it more than you." She then said to me, "I am going to teach your son a lesson and not give him that present because he isnt behaving." Now, if she said this once I would not be mad. Its Christmas and the kid can feel the toy is a train so whats the difference if you give it to him tonight or tomorrow? There is no difference and you shouldnt have put it under the tree if you didnt want to give it to him until tomorrow. She said these things with such malice and hatred that I truly felt bad for my son and he didnt deserve that said to him from his aunt who never calls him (on his birthday and when he was in the hospital on Thanksgiving) spends time with him or comes to visit him. She was treating both my kids like shit and it really made me mad. Who the hell is she to say that he didnt deserve his gift? Does she think that she deserves hers? NO she certainly does not. If you have a beef with me and want to treat me like crap thats fine. I am a big girl and I can deal with it but mess with my children and your going to pay the piper bitch. At this point my son was crying and howling like he was in pain. I couldnt calm him down and he was just getting more and more hysterical by the minute. I will be the first to say that I am a strict disciplinarian and I dont let my kids get away their way when they act out BUT my son has issues and there are certain ways to deal with him and this spiteful way wasnt one of them. She wouldnt know how he is or how to deal with him because she is never with him. She never even inquires about him or my daughter. Hell, she doesnt give a shit about anyone and its quite obvious. So now he's hysterical and I am mad as hell. I said just to give it to him and let it be the end of it. She she starts screaming at me in front of my family and I am standing there not saying a word. I was trying to say, "Why are you yelling? Give me a minute to spit out what I was going to say" I confronted her about what she said and she lied and said she never said that. I told her that my husband heard her and that she said it to my face. Finally, she walked away in a huff saying that she did say it BEFORE. OH, you DID say it then but since you said it before it doesnt count? Where is the logic in this? My Mom said to her, "but you did say it." Apparently that made her furious and she stomped up the stairs calling me a F*cking c*nt. My husband and daughter were standing there and later my daughter asked me what that word meant. This is how I found out she called me names. Throughout our whole discussion I never once lowered myself and called her anything. It wasnt about that it was about how she treated my son like shit. I wasnt going to make this long but I did and I apologize. It was the only way to explain it. So thats why I am very upset AGAIN with her. Nothing new. I was so happy she did this in front of the whole family because you should have seen their faces. CLASSIC. She looked like the ass that she is.

Whew, I am glad thats over...

Now, on New Years Day my daughter started to vomit. We were supposed to go to my cousins but couldnt. I was a little upset but what are you going to do? You cant control when someone is going to get sick. I for one know this VERY well! LOL
I did take some pics over the break.

Our Christmas Tree


A Deer in our yard


This is a sign I put on a beam in my kitchen to always remind me of the train ride called life


Christmas morning


In front of the RC Christmas Tree


RC Christmas Tree


Swarovski Crystal Tree in Radio City Music Hall


My almost 14 year old doxie, the best in the world


I havent been able to do much knitting so there are no finished projects to post. I have to get back into my knitting groove. I am almost done with that baby sweater I am making for my friends brothers daughter. I had to frog the first one because I made a HUGE mistake in it. As soon as I am finished I will post it here. Its going to be cute and I hope it fits too. The baby was born in October and I am making the 3-6 month size so thats why I am rushing to get it done!

Back to knitting!

CurlyBrunette's Creations is OPEN for business!

For the past few weeks I have been hard at work doing my research to open up an Etsy store of my own. I wanted a place where everyone can go to buy my jewelry and creations. Not everyone has the time to have a party due to work, kids, school and just hectic schedules of life. I am so excited over this and I am hoping lots of people come and browse and even buy some of my wares. The web address can be reached by clicking on the CurlyBrunette's Creations Etsy button below my picture on the sidebar or you can just click here: CurlyBrunette's Creations
Please be patient with me as I add more items daily. I am hoping to get as many different designs out there for the holiday shoppers because they are coming! Right now there are necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and sets up but I am planning on adding more categories that involve other crafts. I don't want to say what they are going to be just yet because I am still planning. Keep your eyes open for some really neat stuff! So, head on over to Etsy, they have lots of beautiful handmade stuff that you can browse for hours. Have fun and thanks for looking!

I also took the "Buy Handmade Pledge" which is the link below my Etsy button on the right. I would love if you all would take that pledge along with me. Handmade has heart unlike all the mass produced crap that comes from countries I wont mention, but you get the picture. Go ahead and take the pledge!

A Trip to the Bronx

After two months of working on this baby polo for a co-worker of my husband, I finally finished it!! The pattern was from Debbie Bliss' Baby Cashmerino 3 and easy to follow. I think if I make this again I would probably try to do it in the round. I absolutely HATE seaming. I do however love the finished product and I hope the mom does also. I had different buttons planned but these caught my eye at JoAnn's and they looked great with the color which is a slate blue.







We took the kids to the Bronx Zoo with my Dad at the beginning of the week. We all had a great time except for my legs and feet which hurt like hell from all the walking. Here we are in the Children's Zoo (where I used to work many years ago) in the Blue Heron exhibit.



Pretending to be Prairie Dogs



What a great shot of this tiger! Except for the clarity of the picture that is. If the glass window wasn't between us it would have been a much better picture but then again I might have been on his lunch menu that day if that were the case!



I love Polar Bears and when we walked up to the exhibit the Polar Bear was sleeping and just below the rocks. When he started to stretch and chew on a tree branch I started snapping away and this is what I got. I had planned to take my other camera with the telephoto lens but I didn't want to have to lug all that stuff AND the kids stuff on my back. Hindsight is 20-20 and I would have had some awesome shots!



I could see him thinking, "What's going on over there?"



My son wanted to ride the Skyfari and we were unable to all go together due to the 4 person limit. My Dad took the 2 kids and my husband and I had 5 minutes of alone time 150 ft in the sky. I was just a tad nervous because a few weeks ago the Skyfari got stuck and the people on it were up in the air for a few hours until it was fixed. That would not have been fun if it happened to us. You can see my Dad and my son in the cab that was in front of ours.



A picture of the Irawaddy River (aka The Bronx River) as we rode the Bengali Express Monorail to Wild Asia



Bactrian Camels



This is something I am designing for my Aunt to wear to her son's wedding (my cousin) in September. I am calling it "The Keystone Project" because I am using Swarovski Keystone crystals which are absolutely gorgeous, as you can see. The colors here are burgundy crystals with Swarovski Glass Pearls in the same color and Crystal AB clear crystals and Swarovski silver component spacers. I am making a necklace, earrings and bracelet for her. I will post pics of the whole set when I am done with it which should be in a couple of weeks.



On the weight loss front I am still losing weight, slowly. I am hoping to step it up a notch when school starts later this week. After I drop the kids off at school I am planning to either walk with my friends and/or do my exercises at home that I used to do when I went to physical therapy.

In other news I am finally going to set up an ETSY shop to sell my jewelry and other wares!! I am excited about it and gathering all the information on how to go about doing things the right way. Expect to see me over at ETSY in a few weeks!!

Joe Cool

I am so excited that everyone is starting to get their Joe Cool Sock Kit from Woolgirl! I am sure all who have received it have realized that I made the stitch markers in the kit. I dont have an Etsy shop at the moment but probably will in the future. Most of my creations are jewelry as you can see in my older posts but I do love me some stitch markers once in a while. The stitch markers represent the colors of Mr. Joe Cool himself, Snoopy. Happy knitting to all!

This is a very short (and boring because there are no pictures, sorry) post and its been a while since I posted last. I have a few WIP's that I am in the process of completing. My next post will definitely be more interesting, I promise.

I (Finally) Did It!

Yup, I finally did it. At first I was nervous about doing it and put it off thinking that I could do it on my own without help. Things got worse and I grew unhappier by the day so I finally decided it was time. I got my friend Theresa (who has also wanted to do it for the longest time), and we did it together. What in the blazes am I speaking of you ask? Well, we joined Weight Watchers last night! I am sick and tired of looking and feeling sick and tired! I want to be a healthy weight for my height and I am overweight. I may not be considered obese but I certainly feel it especially when I went to buy clothes, which at the moment is extremely depressing. Nothing would fit right and it was a never ending battle finding something nice to wear for special occasions.

I drew the final straw when I went to my GYN for my yearly exam and I got on the scale. I want you to know that I debated whether or not to put my weight down here but I decided that I wasnt going to be ashamed to do it. It will only motivate me to get to my goal weight so here I go. When I went to my GYN and got on the scale I weighed 176 lbs!! My height is 5 ft and a half and inch so I round it off to 5'1". Thats overweight. Since I found out what my weight was I started to watch what I ate and cut out a lot of things that I was doing like having more than one ice pop at night while watching TV and having smaller portions. So for about the last 3-4 weeks I have been doing well. I knew when I got on the scale at my first meeting last night there would be a lower number than the one I saw at my GYN's office. My starting WW weight, at last nights meeting (July 1st, 2008) was 167.6 pounds. I am off to a good start before I even started the program with an 8.4 pound weight loss! I am psyched!

Weight watchers has a couple of different programs. The last time I did it was 10 years ago and the points program was what worked for me. It worked for me the last time so I decided that I would do that one again. This time it looks like it will be a lot easier because they have what's called FLEX points that you get for the week in addition the the regular points you start every day with. They didn't have that 10 years ago. Meetings are once a week and I am hoping that by the time my cousins wedding rolls around (September 27th) I will be looking svelte. Plus our 10th Wedding Anniversary is the 26th of September so I want to be looking good for that. What I really want is to be healthy. I definitely DO NOT want to be super skinny and boney looking. I have always had curves and I intend to keep them. A healthy body weight for me from what I read of all the literature they handed out is anywhere between 102-128 lbs. Thats a huge gap but they are taking into consideration if you have a large, medium or small frame and also everyone is not the same shape. There are all those different shapes like apple and pear. I dont know which fruit I am, maybe a banana! LOL. I will keep you all posted on my weight loss journey. Now on to some knitting content!

I have been working on this scarf since December of 2007. It got put on the back burner for a while because I was busy with other projects. I finished it yesterday and I decided to add a flower with leaves on one end. I then embellished it with some gorgeous Swarovski crystals around the petals and center of the flower. Isn't it pretty?







Flower Adorned Scarf~Coming up Roses from Vogue Knitting's Crocheted Scarves Two
Rowan Wool Cotton in Off White, Citron and Petal
Size H crochet hook

This is a wire crocheted creation of mine that I made 2 days ago. I used Sterling Silver 28G wire, an H hook and some glass and quartz chip beads to make the necklace and earrings. At 16-17" it's meant to be a choker and is very comfortable, even for someone like me who doesn't like to wear necklaces to tight

Computer Problems

I havent been able to blog due to an incident with my laptop that is totally due to my own stupidity. I fell asleep eating Gelato and it melted into my keyboard on my laptop. Oh boy! I am going to get it fixed as soon as possible but the guy at the computer repair place said it could take a while if the mother board needs to be replaced. They have to then mail it out to APPLE and get it done because they dont do that in the store. This can take a while according to what he said on the phone. Its amazing how dependant we have become on our computers. I am blogging now from our main computer which is not as fast as my laptop and of course not as easily accessible but I am glad none the less that we have another one. Its almost impossible to surf RAVELRY because its so slow loading the pages. Well, that leaves me more time to knit and make some jewelry! Until next time, whenever that may be.

I'm Still Here

Its been a long time since I paid attention to my blog. There's a lot happening around here and I've neglected it, plain and simple. My daughter is receiving Communion in a few weeks so we are preparing for that. My dog just died and we got a new pup who demands a lot of attention. The weather has finally been warmer and we've been enjoying it. There are a million reasons why I haven't been here.

The kids have had the past week off for spring break and my husband has been using them to help fix things around the house and in the garden. I came home the other day to find my 5 year old son using the leaf blower. Good thing its an electric and not a gas powered one. My hair dryer is probably more powerful, LOL. Funny but true. Then the following day they fixed one of the steps that lead up to our house from the drive way. They got to help their Dad to mix the cement and make a mold for the step. It looks pretty good now and by doing it themselves and not having someone do it for us saved us a bunch of money. Even though the bag of cement wasn't cheap it probably still was cheaper. It pays to have a handy husband!

While they have been keeping busy with my husband and playing with the puppy I have been attempting to finish up the stitch markers that I am making for Woolgirl's Joe Cool Kit due to go out in May. She asked me if I would like to design a stitch marker for the club and I told her it would be an honor to do so. She sells some of my stitch markers in her online yarn shop. I cant wait to see how people like them. No secrets will be revealed here!

Speaking of Woolgirl, I received the first sock club shipment a couple of days ago and its fabulous! (Sorry no pics) She runs a fabulous sock club and the extras that she puts in the kits are awesome. Her sock club is right up there with Blue Moon's Rockin' Sock Club in my opinion, maybe even better because of all the little extras she puts in there. I haven't started the sock yet because I am currently working on the Rockin' Sock Club's March Kit, LEAFLING along with my LYS, Knitting Centrals January kit. I know I am a bit behind with the other clubs, even last years RSC but I promised myself that while trying to catch up with last years kits I will finish this years RSC kits first, before other clubs kits. Even though my LYS runs a fabulous sock club I dont think I am going to be joining again next year because its to much work to keep up and I do want to use up the sock yarn I have been accumulating over the past 2 years. I don't think I can ever use up all the sock yarn I have. Yup, there is a lot but I do think there are a lot of people who surpass me in that department. Plus, sock yarn doesn't count as stash. My Knit Picks order arrived the other day and I am in love with their Harmony Circs. I ordered the 2.25mm 40" and the 2.75mm 40" circs because Addi only makes 2.50mm and 3.00mm 40". Along with the circs I also got some yarn to dye with Kool Aid and some Felici which I started making a toe up sock with. Its very soft for a yarn with nylon in it. I am going to have to get more of that stuff (as soon as I use up what I bought). My Mom's Mother's Day gift is coming along but I cant really talk about it to much here.

I finally signed up for one of the classes my LYS is offering with Charlene Schurch. She is coming for two days to teach classes on sock design one day and heel design the next. I decided to take the heel one because I always change up the heels that are in a pattern. Knitting Central has been waiting over two years for her to come to teach a class. Charlene Schurch's books are my bibles for figuring the proper numbers and such to make a perfect sock.

One of the main reasons I haven't been around to write in my blog has been because of fear. I had my scheduled PET Scan a few days ago and am awaiting the results. The reason I am afraid of the results are because I have had a serious case of laryngitis the past 4-5 weeks. At first I though that maybe I was yelling to much and that was the reason for the loss of voice. Even with resting it and taking it easy my voice hasn't improved and every time I talk on the phone or to anyone they ask me if I have a cold or if I am sick. No, I am not sick and I don't have a cold. I wish it was that easy but I am afraid nothing is ever easy when it comes to my health. I think ultimately I have to see an ear, nose and throat surgeon. I happen to have a great one who has done surgery twice on me already. He removed my tonsils the first time and my thyroid the second. I think that maybe he is in a competition with my plastic surgeon to see who can do the most surgical procedures on me. No matter the winner would probably be my anesthesiologist. We are on a first name basis, even worse I call him by his nickname which is a shortened version of his last name. Yup, thats when you know you've had to many operations.

Pictures of something next time, I promise.

Back in Action!

There hasnt been much beading since before Christmas but today I got a chance to make a few things. I am planning on having another jewelry party before Valentine's Day at my parents house. I have received a lot of requests from previous buyers that they want to do some shopping. Hooray! Because I need to pay the bills and I also need to do a big wholesale order with FireMountain Gems. Unfortunately I have to wait for my tax return to do any of that. Here are some beautiful things I made in the past week but mostly today.

Pink Crystal necklace


Moonstone Leaf Necklace


Blown Glass & Swarovski Crystal Necklace


Cobalt Blue Glass & Crystal Necklace


Lampwork beads wiith Swarovski Crystal Bracelet


Blown Glass, Glass Beads & Swarovski Crystal Necklace


I also got around to finishing these cute mittens for my son. They were so easy that I probably could have made them with my eyes closed. Well, except for the seaming at the end. The hardest part of making them were putting the felt in and sewing it up with regular sewing thread. He proudly told his teacher this morning that his Mommy made him Shark Mittens and she now wants a pair! Maybe I will surprise her with an adult pair of Shark Mitts at the end of the year. I have to find nice thick felt like the kind that came with the Morehouse Merino kit. Maybe I will just order it from them. I am in love with the Dragon Scarf they have. Right now I am in the process of making my husband the Alligator Scarf from the kit they sell. I bought all these kits when I was at Rhinebeck and they were my all time favorite purchase. The Rat Race Scarf is really cute to. These are going to make awesome gifts for Christmas next year. They are fun, fast and easy which qualifies them as good gift givers.

Shark Mittens by Morehouse Merino


I dont know why the picture is off center here. Maybe it has something to do with Flickr? It does that sometimes and its annoying because I dont have issues like that with Photobucket. The thing is, I have to have a Flickr account for my Ravelry account. Oh well.

I broke one of my rules that I set for myself already and we are not even halfway into January! I had to go to see my Oncologist for my 3 month check up. He ran all kinds of blood tests which were all normal (yay!) and he wants me to go for a PET Scan in April since my last one was the end of September. Normally I would go for a CAT Scan but when you do a PET Scan it gives you a baseline CAT Scan so there is no need to expose oneself to the extra radiation of the scan. Anyway, back to why I went for a trim. The salon around the corner from the Dr's office and I called while I was waiting for him to see if they had an appointment open. So of course when they said they did I booked it. He took a tiny bit off my ends and also evened out the back so it can grow evenly. He knows I am in the process of growing it and I told him my goal at this point is to get my hair to my shoulders. Now, I do have to wait a while to give it a chance to grow but it always looks good for a few months after he shapes it up anyway. My daughter is receiving 2 sacraments this year and the first is Penance/Reconciliation in February. My hair will look perfect for that and also in my opinion it will look even better when it gets a little longer in May when she receives Communion.

The Year in Review & Goals for 2008

I first wanted to comment on how Christmas went at my parents house. No major fights broke out with my sister but she did snub my husband and ignored him most of the night. Her boyfriend was with us on Christmas Eve and he blatantly snubbed both me my husband and the kids the entire evening. I wished him a Merry Christmas because he wasnt speaking to me and I wanted to be the better person. He didnt really respond. My husband went to shake his hand and he turned and walked away from him. Nice guy hey? Her boyfriend also was supposed to come over on Christmas night and called in the middle of dinner to tell her that he wasnt coming. My sister was obviously upset with him and left the room to talk with him on her cell phone. She later told my Mom that she didnt know what his problem was. I have an opinion about what I think is happening and allow me a moment to explain. My sister has been with him for almost 9.5 years and he is younger than her (he was born in Jan 1980 and she in Oct 1977). When my son was born in 2002 they were together and I thought they were going to be getting married and I chose them to be his Godparents when he was baptized. I talked to my sister before I did this to make sure they were serious about marriage otherwise I wouldnt have chosen him to be his Godfather. Now for the past few years all I have been hearing from my sister is how she doesnt want to get married or have kids. I thought the reason for this was because her boyfriends Dad was terminally ill and dying of prostate cancer. He recently died a few months ago and things have gotten worse between them. My theory is that he doesnt want to marry her because she is a narcissistic controlling person incapable of caring for anyone other than herself and he really got a chance to see her true colors when I was sick and what she did to me. Maybe he is saying to himself, "Do I want a wife who is going to treat people this way, the way she treated her own sister when she was going through cancer treatment, surgery and chemo?" Maybe my sister feels sorry for him that he has no parents anymore and is basically alone. I cant figure them out. They have had a strange relationship from the very beginning. What makes me mad is my Dad is always making fun of how my husband can love me and makes sarcastic comments on it all the time. For some reason he thinks that my husband is "whipped" which he most certainly is not. If anyone is whipped and needs to be made fun of its my sister and her "whipped" boyfriend. Why cant he make fun of them? I've been with my husband since 1996 and we got married in 1998. He has been through hell with me and we have had our share of challenges and bumps in our marriage but we got through them. Right now we are in a great place and I cant be happier. Well, if I had a nice vacation alone with him a few days then I could be a little bit happier! Anyway, I dont know whats up with my sister and her boyfriend but she should be thinking of how much she sacrificed to care for her boyfriends Dad when I needed her to help me (and she did offer to help because she was out of work at the time and continued to be out of work the entire summer I was going through chemo and had my surgeries) and how that is time not only wasted but in the process she destroyed our relationship for someone she isnt even going to marry? Yup, its a bit confusing to say the least but on to my review of 2007.

2007 for me started out OK. The anniversary or first Cancerversary as I call it, of my breast cancer diagnosis came on February 23rd along with leg pain that was bothering me near my sciatic nerve in my left leg. I didnt think to much of it because my pain specialist seems to think I have fibromialgia and I attribute a lot of my aches and pains to that. I had my nipple reconstruction in March that went really well and I couldnt be happier with the results, especially after the nipple tatoos were done. In May I had a PET Scan that showed I had a tumor growing on my sciatic nerve. I got the run around from a Dr that I was referred to who specialized in what I had. I later found out that he never did this type of surgery before and I had a blow up with him on the phone. He was an egotistical asshole that had a horrendous bedside manner and seemed to only care about the almighty dollar. After I found a well qualified Dr who had experience with these types of tumors and removing them I was pleased and set up a surgery day (why couldnt this asshole Dr tell me that there was another Dr in the SAME PRACTICE that did this surgery before???) for June. He told me that there were no guarantees when he removed the tumor and that it might be cancer. They wouldnt know until the biopsy and path reports after the tumor was removed. I was more than nervous but my knitting and beading were there to calm and center me. What I would have done if I didnt have it I dont know. I would definitely lose my mind to say the least if I wasnt able to knit or bead.

I had the surgery in June and the tumor removed wasnt what they thought. It was a tino-synovial giant cell tumor which is not normally found on a nerve. The best news was that it was benign and not cancerous. I was so happy about that but recovery from the surgery which severed my sciatic nerve in a few places was painful and difficult to say the least. I still have issues with spasming of the muscles around the incsision area and it has just been recently controlled with a new pain medication which makes it easier for me to get up in the morning and do activities of daily living.

After that surgery I continued to go to occupational therapy for my lymphedema. The lymphedema was under control but my hand and the pain I was experiencing was getting worse every day. There were times I was unable to knit or bead and would force myself because its how I kept sane. Finally, after months of pain and different treatments I went to see an orthopedic surgeon who told me that it was carpal tunnel (which I already knew since I had it in my right hand in 1999) and that he would do the surgery after Thanksgiving. I was so happy and never looked forward to a surgery as I looked forward to this one because it would give me the use of my hand back and I could do the things I loved again. I cried after leaving the surgeons out of pure happiness that it was going to get better.

After Thanksgiving I had my carpal tunnel release surgery and I knew right away that the surgery worked. I was able to feel my fingers when the anesthesia wore off and it was feeling without pins and needles! I started to crochet first because it was easier to do with a cast on and then I knitted. It was very difficult to get gauge because I was unable to hold adequate tension on the yarn but I was knitting without pain and thats all that mattered to me!

LAST YEARS GOALS

1) Start going to the gym again and losing the weight I gained during chemo. I DIDNT DO THIS BECAUSE OF MY LEG AND THE PAIN I WAS HAVING. AFTER MY SURGERY IT WAS DIFFICULT TO GO TO THE GYM. I AM NOT MAKING EXCUSES FOR MYSELF AND I DO INTEND TO HAVE A GOAL PERTAINING TO THIS IN THE GOALS FOR 2008.

2) Get a tatoo commemorating my journey through breast cancer this past year. I am still trying to decide what kind I want and find someone who will do it where I want it. I CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT THE TATOO THING. I THINK ITS A FAD AND NOW EVERYONE HAS THEM. THE MORE I THINK ABOUT GETTING ONE THE MORE I DONT WANT TO GET ONE. I DONT WANT TO MARK UP MY BODY. MY SCARS ARE MY TATOOS

3) Take more knitting classes to expand my knowledge and skills in knitting. Starting in January I am taking a Dog Cabled Sweater class and I am so excited about it! I TOOK SOME CLASSES WHERE I LEARNED SOME NEW TECHNIQUES BUT I REALIZE THAT I LEARN WELL FROM VIDEOS AND BOOK INSTRUCTION JUST AS WELL AS A CLASS. THE CLASSES ARE GOOD BUT I THINK UNLESS ITS CAT BORDHI OR LUCY NEATBY TEACHING IT THEN I DONT NEED TO TAKE THE CLASS.

4) Go to the STITCHES EAST 2007 knitting conference with my knitting buddies. I DECIDED TO SAVE MY MONEY AND NOT GO. I HEARD FROM A FEW PEOPLE THAT ITS NOT WORTH IT AND TO SAVE MY MONEY TO SPEND ON YARN!

5) Join the BLUEMOON FIBER ARTS SOCK CLUB (which I am pre-registered for) and actually knit the sock patterns they send me even if they are challenging. If I get stuck I can go to my LYS and ask my sock guru (Sally) to help me out. Complete at least one pair a month, at least I said. I JOINED NOT ONLY BMFA BUT WOOLGIRLS SOCK CLUB AND MY LYS'S CLUB WHICH ARE ALL MAKING ME STEP UP MY SOCK KNITITNG. I LOVE TO KNIT SOCKS AND ITS NOT GOING TO CHANGE, EVER! I KNIT ABOUT 10 PAIRS IN 2007. I HAVE A FEW UNFINISHED SINGLES WHICH DONT COUNT BUT I WILL FINISH THEM SOON.

6) Learn to knit a sock toe-up I DID THIS ONE MANY TIMES THANKS TO BLUE MOON AND THE ROCKIN SOCK CLUB

7) Learn short rows in sock knitting. I ALSO DID THIS LEARNING HOW TO DO A SHORT ROW HEEL

8) Make a sweater for my husband and myself I DIDNT DO THIS (YET)

9) Be a kinder and more compassionate person. I ALWAYS TRY TO DO THIS

10) Still try to get a job at a yarn store no matter how many times they say, "we dont need anyone right now." STILL TRYING

11) Go to the dentist (havent been in over 2 years) I FINALLY DID THIS AND I AM SO HAPPY I DID. NO CAVITIES!

12) Garden more. I DIDNT GET TO DO THIS BECAUSE WHATEVER TIME I HAVE FREE I KNIT AND BEAD. MAYBE I AM NOT MEANT TO BE A HARDCORE GARDENER LIKE MY NEIGHBOR.

13) Try to pay bills ontime (this one is a losing battle) THIS HAS GOTTEN BETTER AND I AM DOING WELL WITH THIS

14) I am sure there are more but I cant think right now and I didnt want to end on #13, call me suspicious.

GOALS FOR 2008

1) GET IN SHAPE AND LOSE WEIGHT WITH A HEALTHY DIET AND LIFESTYLE.
2) MAKE A SWEATER FOR BOTH MY HUSBAND, MYSELF AND MY KIDS.
3) MAKE AS MANY SOCKS AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE OR AT LEAST BEAT 10 PAIR WHICH I DID IN 2007
4) HAVE MORE JEWELRY SHOWS AND SELL, SELL, SELL!
5) GO TO CHURCH AND BE A MORE SPIRITUAL PERSON (I KNOW CHURCH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BEING A SPIRITUAL PERSON BUT I WOULD LIKE TO ACCOMPLISH BOTH.
6) GO ON VACATION WITH MY FAMILY AND ALONE WITH MY HUSBAND. WE HAVENT BEEN ON ONE SINCE 2004 WHEN WE ALL WENT TO DISNEYWORLD WITH THE KIDS. WE HAVENT BEEN ON AN "ALONE" VACATION SINCE OUR HONEYMOON. SAD, I KNOW.
7) DATE NIGHT AT LEAST 2 TIMES A MONTH WITH MY HUSBAND.
8) I STILL WANT A JOB AT MY LYS AND I AM NOT GIVING UP ON THAT ONE!
9) WALK WITH MY MOM IN THE AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER IN OCT 2008 IN NYC AND RAISE MORE MONEY THAN THE YEARS BEFORE.
10) BE MORE INVOLVED WITH MY CHILDRENS SCHOOL ACTIVITIES AND VOLUNTEERING
11) LETTING MY HAIR GROW LONG AGAIN (NOT SURE HOW LONG). IT LOOKS BETTER LONG, I CAN DO MORE WITH IT AND I MISS IT.

I think the main reason I had first decided to keep it short was because of a deep rooted fear I had that I would grow it out to the length I had it when I lost it (32"~yup, it was down to my waist) and I would lose it again. I still have this crazy yet real fear but I cant let that stop me from having my hair in the style I want. I need to be patient and allow it to do its thing. So limited haircuts just to trim the ends and thats it. Last haircut was around October 24th so I already have a jump on it. My daughter is receiving 2 sacraments this year (2008) and I have a couple of weddings to go to so grow hair, grow! Grow so you can cover my big ass! LOL

I'm sure I have more that I cant remember but I wanted to get them down before the end of this year. Sorry there are no pics but I am almost done with a WIP and I promise a few nice pics when I post again.

Not Enough Time in the Day

There is definitely not enough time in the day to do all the things I need to get done before Christmas. I have to still make a few more pieces of jewelry and wrap all the gifts. Yesterday I spent all afternoon working on jewelry gifts. By the time I finished my brain was all out of ideas. I am going to make a few more tonight and tomorrow. Nothing like cutting it close! I cant post any pictures here because certain people read my blog and I dont want to give away any surprises.

In knitting news I am almost done with my second Unoriginal Hat in Fuschia. My daughter is begging me for this hat and it was going to be mine. If she really wants it then I will surprise her with it. I have another 2 skeins of Torino Bulky in a variegated pink/red colorway that I could make another hat with for myself but I am not sure yet what I am going to do. I started another pair of socks with Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Sock yarn in Christmas Balls after frogging the Monkeys I started in the Irish Dreams colorway from Woolgirl's Sock Club. I am not sure what happened but somewhere I messed up the pattern and I wasnt in the mood to fix it so I frogged it. Yup, thats me. If I was further along then I would have just attempted to fix it but I wasnt that into it anyway and wanted more of a Christmassy (if that's a word) project since I finished my Jingle Bell Rock Socks. The other day I wore them and man were my feet nice and toasty! I washed them by hand after reading how the colors can bleed and fade with the BM yarn and it did a little bit but otherwise the yarn softened up a bit and looks great. I am planning on wearing them on Christmas Day.

On Wednesday my husband and I were walking out of the house and to my surprise there was a package from BM on the ground at my feet! I TOTALLY forgot that there was one last shippment in December for the Rockin' Sock Club and boy was I surprised! I was even more surprised when I opened the package and discovered a gorgeous colorway with a Cat Bordhi pattern. It looks challenging but I like a challenge and especially if its based on her New Pathways socks. Who knows when I will get around to doing it but at least I have completed a few pairs from the 2007 club. There are some people in the club who havent even knitted one pair of socks! I cant imagine spending all that money and not even knitting a pair. I shouldnt talk because I havent knit any socks from my Knitting Central Sock Club yet but thats because I have 2 other sock clubs I AM knitting for! I completed one pair from Woolgirl's Club and am working on another called SPRUCE SPRIGS in honor of Christmas Trees.

Tomorrow and Christmas Day we spend at my parents house and I must admit I am a little nervous about it. If you read any of my past entries from last Christmas then you already know why. My sister causes quite the problems last year and I am worried there is going to be a repeat performance this year. I told my Mom what I thought and she says there wont be a problem but for every time she has said that in regard to my sisters behavior she has been wrong. I warned her that I wont say anything or start any problems unless something is done or said to me first. I will defend myself if necessary. My Mom mentioned on the phone that my sister bought me something expensive and all that jazz. Then she says (as she always does in her defense) that she (my sister) is trying in her own way to make things right with me. Uh, no she's not. I havent even spoken to her since October and I had surgery the end of November. She never even called me after my surgery. If she was trying at all then she would have picked up the phone. I guess thats to hard to do. You have no idea how sick I am of my Mother defending my sisters actions, its hypocritical and I told her that. If it were me behaving this way there is no way in hell my Mother would let ME get away with it. My Mother would certainly have put me in my place by now. I am so sick of the double standard that exsists. I am sure many of you out there with younger siblings reading this know what I mean. You laid the path for them and were the one who got in trouble all the time and then they do the same thing that you would have had your teeth knocked out for and they get away with it. Its bullshit is what it is.

I remember one night my parents were away. I was in college at the time and over my boyfriends house. My sister decided to invite 100 of her closest friends over for a party. I arrived home early and found the house alarm going off and hundreds of teenagers running out of the house in a million different directions with 3 police cars blocking the driveway (the alarm alerts the police when it goes off). I helped my sister clean up the house before my parents came home and found out what happened. I wasnt a tattle tale and didnt say a word to my parents. My great uncle, who lives a few houses down from my parents came over the house a couple of days later asking what happend the other night the alarm went off and what the cops were doing there. Who knows what he thought was happening. My parents had no knowledge of this and were very surprised to say the least at the information my uncle had given them. My sister got into big trouble (grounded for a month-big deal) and I had no part of getting her into trouble which I was very happy about. I never did anything that stupid because I am not stupid enough to have a party on a night my parents just go out to eat and not go away on vacation. Pretty dumb move right but thats my sister, immature as the day she got busted for that party.

This month I was supposed to go see the Oncologist for tests. I am holding off until January because I didnt want any bad news before the holidays. After Christmas I am going to call and set up my appointment for the tests and to see the Dr. You cant blame me for not wanting to go right? I am surprised the Dr didnt just say that he wanted to see me in January instead of December. I went for a PET Scan in October (I think it was October or late September but I can be sure) and I due for a CAT Scan and an MRI. My leg, where I has my tumor removed in June, was bothering me a while back and the pain specialist decided to put me on a daily low dose of a different pain medication and it worked! My leg is feeling much better now. I didnt want to take another medication but I was getting horrible spasms in my thigh muscle every night that would wake me up. The spasms were so bad that it took a few days for the pain to disperse so I had to do something.

Its also almost that time of the year to go over the goals I set for 2007 and the ones I intend to meet for 2008. Thats going to be in my next post along with my Christmas review. Hopefully its a good one boys and girls.

Hand me that Knitting! (and those beads)

I am officially suture free and able to knit!! I am wearing my brace at times that I need to protect my hand in public or when doing things where I feel I might hurt myself by inadvertently putting weight on it. The Dr said I can do anything that I feel comfortable doing with it except putting weight on my palm. I was able to crochet with the original cast on so thats what I did.

I started a couple of crochet projects. One is a rippleghan that I am making for my living room. The other is a scarf for myself. My husband took me to the yarn store yesterday and picked out yarn to make the Yarn Harlot's Unoriginal Hat. He picked Torino Bulky in Grey for himself and I picked out a variagated pink/red colorway. Everyone who is making them on Ravelry (like 300+ people are making them) say they are a fast knit. I wonder if I can make it using the Magic Loop method? I am not sure about that though.

Finally, there are some pictures for me to post:

My Daughter on Thanksgiving


My Old Man1


My Old Man 2


These are some pieces that I made today and a few that were made before my surgery.

This are two Cloisonne & Crystal Necklaces:


Green Star Necklace and Pink Glass and Crystal Necklace


Green Blown Glass Leaf Necklace


Leopardskin Jasper Fan Necklace


BMFA Mediumweght Yarn: Mesa, Christmas Balls & Count Cluckula


I would love to start a new project with one of these yarns but before I do I have to finish a few.

The other day my husband came with me to my regular Dr. While he was there he checked him out and drew some bloodwork. He was complaining that he wasnt feeling well and was falling asleep while standing up. Believe me, he is falling asleep all the time, even when there is a parents meeting for my daughters religious ed. I thought at first it was just him being overtired and not getting enough rest. He's been working a lot of overtime and his hours are crazy. The Dr called with the results a few days ago and I couldnt believe what he told me. His hematacrit level, which is red blood cell count, was 24 when normal values for a man are around 44. His hemaglobin was also dangerously low. These things mean that hes severely anemic. Anemic enough to warrant a transfusion but thats a last resort because they generally dont like to do that unless its totally necessary. He is scheduled for an upper endoscopy and a colonoscopy tomorrow to see where the bleeding is coming from. The Dr and gastroenterologist seem to think that its a bleeding ulcer. My mind is running through all the bad things it can be because God knows they always happen to us! Enough is enough already. My family deserves a break and I think that if God is testing me in some sort of way that I think I have passed the test by now. Please say a prayer that all goes well for him tomorrow. I will post news as soon as I get it.

Me Against the World

Sometimes I feel this way, I really do. I can certainly say this about the recent events of the past 2 weeks or so. Who am I kidding? How about the past few YEARS. Some I spoke about in detail and some I've kept to myself. Its been a neverending series of shit that had gone on with our car being close to totalled by my husband avoiding a flying deer (came over the guys car in front of him headed straight for the windshield). Another surgery for me which by now you would think I have my own operating room named in my honor. The nurse that books surgeries for the orthopedic surgeon thats doing my hand surgery said the operating room nurse in charge of scheduling surgeries knew who I was when she called to schedule my carpal tunnel release. You can look at it as a good thing or as a bad thing I guess.

After Sunday's private hell (mine) I thought this week would be a nice one but of course it wasnt! My son was home on Monday with a bad chest cold and it has spred and morphed into a stomach virus/chest cold involving my daughter. She stayed home from school today and we had to make an emergency visit to the pediatric pulmonologist when she had an asthma attack which wasnt getting better with the usual medications. It was extremely stressful tring to get her to his office which is 35 minutes away and getting my son out of school early so I could take him with me. My Dad offered to come up to my house or meet us at the office but I was already running late and printing directions off of MapQuest so I didnt have time to give my Dad the directions and all that because it was getting later by the minute. We made it on time and I wasnt feeling so hot either so I hoped the exam would be a fast one.

Good news is that my daughters lungs were not as bad as I thought but the Dr said she has a very bad cold and maybe even the flu. I tend to agree with him about the flu because when she came home she proceeded to throw her guts up and also had a fever of 103.5. The pulmonologist wasnt so happy to see me either. He seemed to be a bit perturbed to be there seeing patients or maybe just my daughter. It was the first time I met him as my husband brought my daughter the first time she went to see him and also was the one to speak to him on the phone when she was having trouble breathing one night. Maybe it has something to do with me being a woman? I dont know. When he returned my call to get the story on what was happening with my daughter he asked what I did to treat her symptoms. I had done everything that he had written down in the asthma care plan and then some. He then decided to tell me that I was supposed to see him as a follow up to the initial visit which was a month ago and I hadnt done that (well then this is all my fault as usual!! I should have known!) I admitted to him I was wrong and apologized for not making the follow up appointment and that I was having issues with my health. I wasnt sure if my husband had told him what was going on with me medically so I went ahead and told him that I was a breast cancer survivor going through another surgery in a few weeks. I apologized again for not making the appointment but I also told him that she was doing well with the maintainance that he had her on initially and that I doubt he would have changed anything so we would still be in this situation whether or not I went for the follow up. On the way out I made a follow up for January. Sometimes I feel I spend all my time at Dr's offices whether or not they are my Dr's or the kids.

My Mom is coming up tomorrow to watch the kids while I attend my Starry Night Shawl Class. I wont be able to participate in the class but I will be able to learn how to finish the shawl. Jane Elliot is a wonderful teacher and funny too. They also have an all day class on Fair Isling with Nicky Epstein which I am sure would be an awesome class also if I had more days in the week! LOL. Then if my husband isnt to tired from working all day we are planning on seeing a movie. I want to see GONE BABY GONE or BEE MOVIE. The kids want to see BEE MOVIE so we cant really go without them. I am not sure what other movies are still playing now so I have to check out the schedule for the weekend movie line up.

Now, enough talking and time for some pictures!

My son in his schools Halloween Parade


My daughter as the Little Mermaid


The infamous birthday cake I spoke about in the previous post


Leaves & Stars Necklaces


Earth Flower Porcelain and Crystal Necklace


Oblong Topaz Crystal Necklace


Blue Stone Pendant Necklace (18Kt white Gold plated bail)


Stone and Swarovski Necklace


Seeing Red


Flowers Climbing a Vine of Crystal Necklace


Blown Glass and Swarovski Necklace


Amethyst, Colorado Topaz & Tanzanite Swarovski Crystal Necklace


Green and Crystal Necklace


Sodalite and Rose Quartz & Topaz Square Crystal Necklaces


Lampwork Glass with Fuscia Swarovski Crystals


I havent posted my handcrafted jewelry in such a long time but you can see that I have been busy. I try to make at least one thing a day but I havent been able to stick to that rule due to the pain I've been having in my hand. A little here and there and it adds up. Most of there pieces were actually made before the party I had at the end of October and I wasnt able to post them.

I am awaiting another sock club kit from WOOLGIRLS SOCK CLUB around the 14th of November and KNITTING CENTRAL'S SOCK CLUB at the end of this month. Who knows when I will catch up with all these socks I have to knit.

I was actually thinking about when I will be able to knit again after my surgery. The Dr had said I will be in a hard splint with my 4 fingers and thumb able to move. That doesnt help me with the answer to my question though. I do think that I will be able to crochet because it doesnt involve the 2 hands as much as knitting does. I am prepared with my crochet patterns (dishcloths & scarves) to maybe get some Christmas gifts made. In the time between now and my surgery I hope that I can stay healthy with all this illness around me. I had a chest cold a few weeks ago and had to take a Z-pack (Zithromax) just to clear up my lungs. I havent felt well for the past 4 days but I think its just a cold with a post nasal drip.

I almost forgot to talk about my favorite new products in the whole world. When I had waist length hair I used a product called OJON RESTORATIVE HAIR TREATMENT. I first heard about it on QVC and then of course ordered it from them. I LOVED THIS STUFF. It made my hair soft, shiny and the curls were incredible. I even gave some to my Mom to try and she also loved it. I used it up until the time I lost all of my hair to chemo and then put away the remaining half of a jar that I had left. I didnt even remember that I had it until a few weeks ago and I started using it again. Yesterday I stopped at Sephora to pick up some more because Iiterally had a drop of this stuff left which is definitelty not enough! To my surprise I found a bunch of new products being made by my beloved OJON. They have this stuff called ELASTIK and its used on all types of hair to relax it and take the frizz out. The great thing is that the main ingredient that does all this wonderful stuff comes from the rubber tree (I think) and they use all natural stuff to make hair healthier and there is even some OJON oil in it. They also have a new product called TAWAKA Ancient Tribal Rejuvenating Creme which is a part of their RARE HARVEST collection. You can use it all over your body including your hair. Last night I used both the OJON RT and the TAWAKA mixed together to coat my hair (as they suggest for a deep treatment) and all I have to say is WOW, WOW, WOW! Fabulous shine and softness beyond belief. I also blowdried it straight using the ELASTIK and not only did it get it straight a lot easier and quicker then I normally get it done but I was out in the drizzly rain today and ITS STILL STRAIGHT WITHOUT FRIZZ!! This stuff is fabulous and I even used it on my face last night and this morning under my make-up. I love it! You can read about it on:
www.ojon.com