Thursday, December 24, 2009

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:

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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!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Not Enough Time in My Day for All this CRAP!!

So much has happened since walking the AVON WALK in October. Turns out I forgot my camera when I left for the hotel the night before and my Mom didnt have her camera so no pictures from the walk. I was upset about that but overall I was more proud of the money we both raised and the great job we did walking all over NYC. It was a blast and so many people were out there to great us with inspirational signs and high fives. My Mom and I raised a total of almost $6,000 which I plan to beat next year by leaps and bounds.

The following week was the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival which was predicted to be rained out but we headed up on Saturday and the rain held out until after we left. I was able to get a few nice skeins of Blue Moon Fiber Arts yarns. I was saving up my money for STITCHES EAST which this year was held in Hartford and was happening just a week after Rhinebeck. My husband and I made a date of it and had a great time. He even won a door prize from Liza Souza yarns! I thought that was so funny. Afterwards we headed to Ruth's Chris Steak House for a belated anniversary dinner. We celebrated 11 years on 9/26 and never had a chance to go out and celebrate so better late then never.

I almost forgot that my son's 7th birthday came and went and I never mentioned it. He turned 7 on the 15th of October and we had a couple of celebrations for him since it fell in the middle of the week.

I am not sure if I mentioned this here or not but I cant really go into a long drawn out story. I will give a shortened version not to bore you all. My sister is pregnant due in March with a guy who is not only an illegal immigrant but 7 years younger than her. We all know what he really wants. She doesnt even know him 8 months, maybe less. She was pregnant over the summer and had a miscarriage at 6-7 weeks but immediately got pregnant while recouping from the miscarriage. We all thought they would take the proper steps when that happened and do the right thing like get a green card then get married then have a baby. Maybe get to know each other a little bit and see if you both want the same things in life. But no, not her. So she is due in March and they are to be married by a judge civilly the day after Christmas. Oh joy. I dont have a good feeling about this guy because whenever I see him he looks like a deer in the head lights. He's 25 and she is 32. There is no way he wants the same things that she does. I can say that he definitely sees her as his meal ticket because she has the job with the benefits and the health insurance, the co-op that he moved into and so on. I hope for the childs sake that I am wrong but I am usually right when it comes to reading people. Anyway, I am knitting as much stuff as I can for the baby before she is born.

In knitting news I made another baby item for my kids school principal who had a baby girl over the summer. I used Bon Bon yarn and Louisa Harding for the trim. It was a very quick knit and fun too.

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Colorful and cute! I hope he and his wife like it. Now I have to start something for a patients 2 year old whom I have no idea what to make. There are so many things I could do but when you want to make them all its hard to make a decision! LOL

I am presently working on a Christening Blanket for my sister, half mittens for myself and a pair of socks that I have been working on forever! I still want to start something new, NOW! I am sure whatever I finish first will be posted here for all to see but who knows when that will be.

Over the past few months I havent been feeling well and have seen an ENT several times thinking it was a sinus infection of sorts. He told me that it was a deviated septum but was unsure that it could cause all the pain I was having and am still having. I am having more than pain now. I am dizzy and cant focus on anything for a long period without getting dizzy or nauseous. I have problems driving too which scares the heck out of me because my job entails driving and lots of it at times. So yet again I am headed to the Dr to check me out and see what the problem is. I am hoping I can get some answers and maybe feel better! I am praying that happens soon because I cant take much more of feeling this way.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

It's HERE!!!!

Yes, this weekend is the AVON WALK and I am ready as I will ever be. I will update you all as to what happens, of course! I am charging my camera battery at this very moment. To date I have raised $2175 which I am very proud of so the walking is just a bonus to me. As long as the money was raised thats what counts.

On the knitting front I completed another Boheme in a larger size for a patients niece born in July. I used Spud & Chloe's Sweater yarn in a beautiful turquoise color and followed the directions for the 18 month size. My gauge was off a bit but I figured so what if it was a little big. It came out to measure 25" around the chest which says should fit a 4-5 year old! I am not so sure about that. Maybe a 3-4 year old the way these kids get so big so fast these days! Here it is:

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Don't you love the contrast of the buttons with the color of the sweater? I absolutely love it!

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I have another baby to make something for now and I havent started yet! My kids school principal had a baby girl this summer and I didnt even know about it until the kids started school again last month. I am thinking of booties with a hat or something simple because I have a lot of baby knitting to do for my sister who is pregnant and due in March.

Things seem to be going well with her and I. I know there have been problems in the past but I am hoping thats where they will stay.

My husband seems to be doing well and healing from his surgery back 3 weeks ago. He is going to start PT in another couple of weeks and if all goes well will return to work early January.

October is one crazy month! Starting with the walk this weekend then my sons birthday next week, the NYS sheep and wool festival the following week and finally Stitches East the last weekend of October. WOW! Crazy right!

Gotta go. See you at the walk this weekend!!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Boheme Baby Sweater

I finally completed this baby sweater for my friends niece that is celebrating her first birthday next month. Right on time with this 18 month size sweater. The pattern is BOHEME on ravelry and I used one skein of Blue Moon FIber Arts Socks that Rock Heavyweight in Rare Gems colorway. I like it so much I want to make one for myself. I think that I am addicted to making seamless sweaters now because they are so easy and fast.

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On another note I reached my fundraising goal of $1800 for the AVON Walk for Breast Cancer. This doesnt mean that I cant go beyond my goal because I have a few checks that I sent in that havent been put towards the total yet.

The first week of school is over and so far so good. Both my kids like their teachers but I do have a few things I need to iron out with my sons teacher. When I bring them in to school Monday I will have a chat with the principal about my concerns.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Wonky II

This little knit was such a quick and easy, fun knit that I had to make another. I am not sure who this is for or I should say that I do know who it's for but I don't want to mention it as to give the surprise away. This Wonky cowl from the latest Knitty is made with Sheep Shop Two yarn which now is no longer available (which is sad because its a great yarn).

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I am in the process of working on a gift for my Mom's birthday, a baby sweater for my best friends niece, a couple of pairs of socks, and the finishing touches on a crocheted shawl. I can't figure out what type of crocheted embellishments are needed on it because I don't want it to look to overdone. I have a load of gorgeous crocheted leaves and flowers but I am saving them for another idea I have.

The summer is almost coming to an end and I can't wait! I had a nice summer but it was crazy. I am definitely not a hot weather person. I LOVE the Fall and cant wait for school to start. My husband is scheduled for major surgery the middle of September and am going to be working a lot more to make up for the 3 months of work he is going to miss. He's going to be getting workmans comp but we all know how its not your full salary. Its 75% of your salary and I really hope they dont dick him around when it comes to giving him what he is due. I can't work as much as he does but I will be filling in for him on his other job and picking up his regular patients. Then I have jury duty in November which is going to suck ass because there is no way I can serve on a jury. Even though I would love to do my civic duty and serve it would be a severe burden on the family at this time. No one to watch the kids, no one to take hubs to physical therapy, no one to work per diem. You get the point. Well, last time I went to serve for jury duty I drove though an ice storm to get to the court house and waited there for the lawyers to show for 3 hours. After waiting all that time with 100+ others in the same boat as me, they told us we all served for the next however many years (cant remember) and sent us home. Thats because the lawyers didnt show on account of the ice storm. So it was OK for US to risk our lives to get there but the lawyers no, God forbid! What a joke. I hope that doesnt happen again.

Good News! I am almost at my goal for my AVON WALK!! I am at $1625 and my goal is $1800. My friend is sending a check for $100 so once that registers I am at $1725 and only $75 away from my goal. If you are interested in donating to my walk please click on my link in the sidebar thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Time to work on my Mom's birthday gift...

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Never a Dull Moment

I should know already that there is never a dull moment in my life. A week before my daughters hand surgery which was the 28th of July, I had an episode with my blood pressure where I had to go to the ER.

I had a migraine for a few days and it just wasn't relenting. I started to have horrible dizzy spells and problems with my vision. My blood pressure (BP) usually runs extremely low and when I say extremely I mean VERY low like 90/50. When I took my BP it was 158/110. OK, don't panic, take it again, and again and again. Every time I took it the numbers were worse and worse. It got to 180/120. By that time my husband had come home from work and he had taken it and got worse then I was getting. I put in a call to my doctor who was on vacation for the week so he had an asshole filling in for him. She doesn't know me and she is a real jerk. I know my body well and I know when something isn't right. My doc listens when I talk because he always says, you turn your back on me for one second and the shit hits the fan with my health. Off to the ER we went and my husband drove while I popped one of the old BP pills I had left over from when I had issues with tachycardia from my Graves Disease (before I had my thyroid removed). I thought what harm could it do and at this point I thought I was having a stroke.

When we got to the ER they brought me right in when they heard what my symptoms were. They hooked me up to a monitor and my pressure was still high at 146/99 but much better than the last reading my husband got at home. The ER doc ordered a CAT Scan of my head to rule out a stroke and an EKG which was done within an hour of me being admitted to the ER. They started an IV to give me pain meds for my migraine and drew lots of blood for cardiac enzymes and other tests. All the tests were negative and my pressure was still hovering in the 150/90 something range. They were unsure if the Atenolol that I took before I left my house had anything to do with it going down. I definitely think it was lowering it. I almost forgot to mention that my Mom and Dad were away on vacation and my husband had no choice but to take the kids with us. You could imagine how much fun that was for them! They admitted me to the hospital and I stayed for a couple of days. They did a renal ultrasound to see if I had stenosis of the renal artery which would cause a hypertensive episode. There is also another condition of the kidneys that causes hypertensive episodes (complicated name that I can't remember) and the ultrasound ruled it out also. So after all that they couldn't find anything wrong which is comforting but aggravating also. I still don't feel right but they seem to think it might have been related to my thyroid levels being totally off.

A week later my daughter had her hand surgery. They initial thought it was an aneurysm of the artery or something vascular. When they got in there it wasn't vascular at all which turned out to be very good news. No reconstruction of the artery needed meaning no scary side effects and less healing time. Pathology hasn't come back yet but I am hopeful it's not serious.

The same day my daughter had her surgery I had my PET Scan which I go for every 4 months. Results were negative and I can breathe again.

During that time I knit a few rows on a couple of new socks and I COMPLETED the "Wonky" cowl from the Knitty Summer Issue. It was a very quick knit that was also very easy. I used Spud & Chloe yarn which was a dream to knit with. The first two pictures are pretty much true to color which is a natural brown color. I made it for my husband because he's not a scarf person. Here are some pics of the completed project.

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I am planning on making a few more of these!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Only A Year in the Making

I FINALLY finished another project that was lying around unfinished for a VERY long time. The Gumdrop Socks were the July 2008 shipment of the Blue Moon Rockin' Socks Club. Well, it only seems fitting that it's July 2009 and I have completed them! Here they are and right on time for the next shipment of the RSC due any day now. Now if I can only finish the tank top I started last spring! lol

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Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Why I Walk-AVON Walk for Breast Cancer 2009

I just completed my page on the AVON Walk for Breast Cancer website! You're probably thinking FINALLY! The walk is in October and I am just started my fundraising. The paragraph below is what I put on the site and the link is in my sidebar (AVON Walk for Breast Cancer 2009) if anyone would like to donate to my walk.

Most of you know that I am a breast cancer survivor. I was 34 years old when I received my diagnosis in February of 2006. I am walking for many reasons. The main one being that I would like to see a cure for breast cancer in my life time. I walk because I don't want my daughter to live in fear that breast cancer will do the same thing to her as it did to me. I walk for the women who can't walk. It took me 3 years to be able to wake up in the morning and not have the word 'cancer' cross my mind. I did not let cancer define me but it did change me, and the way I view every day life. I like to say, I may have had cancer, but cancer never had me. With your donations breast cancer can be a thing of the past. Please help me eradicate this terrible disease and give hope to those fighting it now. Thank you so much!
 Jeanann

Friday, June 19, 2009

My Knitting Mojo is Back

I finally finished the sweater I was making for my son's teachers new baby girl who was born in March. I made sure to make it a 12-18 month size so she can get a lot of use out of it when the weather gets colder. The yarn used is Great Adirondack Handspunlike cotton with a #6 needle. I absolutely love this pattern because it's a seamless kimono so no seaming when you are done! I made one for my cousins baby with the lion on it. Enough talking here it is:

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I know that I have told everyone that I wanted my hair to grow so I can wear it long like I used to but I changed my mind. The other day I decided that I liked the way my curls looked when I had it in a bob. So I went to a curly girl salon to my usual curly girl stylist and she did a great job. I'll try and get a pic up soon, I promise. Jesse, the stylist says that it definitely looks better on me than the style I had before because it suits my curly personality which is so true. Crazy curls, crazy me.

I have been working a lot to make money to pay bills and all that jazz but I am sure everyone is trying to do as much as possible these days to pay their bills. I haven't had a chance to work on jewelry or knit but since I finished the baby sweater I can feel my knitting mojo coming back. I ordered a couple of books on Amigurumi so I can use the scrap yarn I have collected these past few years for something productive like a knitted pumpkin pie to be exact. I also got my hands on the Sookie Stackhouse series of books that the HBO series "True Blood" is modeled after. Barnes and Noble had a few of them but not the whole series so I bought books 1 and 2 at the book store and books 3-7 (or 8 I cant remember but it was just the paperbacks and not the newest hardcover) from Amazon.

School is out for the summer on Tuesday and my kids are not doing camp this year. God help me! My son is going to do a summer school program for the month of July which is only until 12:30pm M-F. My daughter is having hand surgery the first week of July so she wont be attending the Y this summer. We promised them that we would still do things so they will still have a nice summer break.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Beam Me Up... Karl?

I know its been a while and I wont get into why I havent been around because its to complicated. Lets just say life gets in the way and takes precedence over my blogging, I guess. The other night my hubby and I went to the movies and anyone who knows me knows that I am a big Christian Bale fan so the obvious choice would be to go see the new Terminator movie. But wait a gosh darn minute there. I am also a HUGE, HUGE, Star Trek fan and I really wanted to see this movie so we did. Man am I glad I did because in the midst of the movie I realized that the actor playing Leonard "Bones" McCoy was none other than the kiwi actor Karl Urban from movies such as Lord of the Rings, The Bourne Supremacy and The Chronicles of Riddick, just to name a few. Wow is this guy awesome! Every scene that he was in stole the show. He made the perfect "Bones" McCoy, perfect. If you havent seen the movie then GO NOW! I want to see it again, and again. Its also in IMAX so if you can catch it on that BIG screen then go for it. I think I will have to move Mr. Urban to the top of my obsession list. That might mean right above Christian Bale and Damian Lewis! Hard to believe but not so hard when you check out this video:
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Its so funny because as a fan of the 1960's Star Trek show Dr. McCoy was my favorite character. I loved when he played that cantankerously funny country doc character off of Spock's always logical character.

In other news, knitting to be exact, I took a bit of a break due to my job and working alot. I would always fall asleep on it and never was getting anywhere with all my projects. I HAVE to finish a baby sweater that I am in the process of finishing up for my son's teacher who had a baby in March. Its a good thing I am making the 12 month size. A few projects I decided to frog instead of finish and just start over. I havent bought yarn, except for the sock clubs I am in and a few skeins I bought to make a tiny cardigan for myself. That is when I finish the tank top I started last spring and a pair of socks.

My YouTube addiction is quite evident with all the videos I have been posting here on my blog. That takes up some time too but most of the time I am on its really late at night and I fall asleep watching on my laptop.


The picture on the left is my 20 year high school reunion. I am last girl on the right side of the stairs with the black dress with flowers. It was such a great reunion and lots of girls came which made it even better. I havent seen most of them for 20 years! Everyones looked great especially their hair! Awesome hair! I hope we all look that good in another 20 years!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Amazing

A patients husband told me about this amazing video today. You have to see it to believe it, thats all I have to say. Just watch it all the way through. This video has won many awards on YOU TUBE and they are all well deserved. Here it is:

Sunday, March 08, 2009

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!

Saturday, March 07, 2009

WTF Blanket?

I thought this was f-ing hilarious so I will share it with all of you:

Every time this was on TV I thought WTF is this? What idiot would buy this? I guess blankets are too difficult for most of the morons out there. LOL.

Friday, February 06, 2009

First Post of February

Well, the first week of February is not yet over and here I am posting with a finished object to brag about! My cousins baby shower is at the end of the week and I finally finished the seamless baby kimono sweater. I used Zara Merino in white with a size 6 needle and I used a lot more yarn than the pattern called for. I made the 3-6 month size and it called for 200 yards and I used 340 yards. Thats not a small difference but a big one in my eyes. My gauge was fine so I am not sure what the problem was. I do think the sweater looks like it can fit a baby past 6 months but thats the amazing stretching power of knits! Its a good thing too because the more use a baby can get out of a handmade knit then the better it is. Who wants to put a baby in something they can only wear once or twice before they outgrow it? Not me. So enough talking here's my finished objects:

I am calling it the King of the Jungle Seamless Baby Kimono Sweater
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To showcase my brand spankin' new sewing skills I made this little baby Panda pillow. Although, I don't know how much it looks like a panda because my daughter thought it looked like a raccoon. I am not to sure at the moment what it looks like but its cute none the less and I am sure a newborn baby won't care as long as its soft.
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At the moment I have a few unfinished objects on my needles and I should be finishing them BUT I have to make another baby gift for my son's teacher who is having a baby girl in March. She is such a lovely woman who has had her share of heartache in 2008. She lost both her newborn baby girl and her husband within 8 months. She has a baby boy who will be 3 soon and soon a newborn to take care of. She is going to need all the help she can get. A local radio station granted a Christmas wish by paying off the two funerals she was struggling to pay. She is having a little girl so I am going to raid my stash to see what pretty yarn I am going to use to make her little one a sweater Until next time my pretty (insert cackling laugh here) LOL

Saturday, January 31, 2009

The 4th One of the Month

One of my many goals this year is to try to post at least 4 times a month to this blog (or more). Its hard to do that when you don't have anything to talk about that you think is worthy of sharing. Well, lets see, I think I have a couple of things to talk about.

Yesterday, I had an interview for a home care IV infusion therapy per diem nurse position. I was a little nervous about the interview since I haven't been on one since 1997. The office I was headed to was an hour away from here so my husband offered to drive me. He brought along his resume to drop off in the hopes he would be able to get something one day a week or so because they are cutting all his OT at work. When we arrived he gave his resume to the woman doing my interview and she asked us if we wouldn't mind being interviewed together? Wow, I never had an interview with another person before let alone my husband! I thought it was funny and it took a little of the nervousness away making the situation more casual for all of us. To make a long story short, at the end of the interview she told us both that she would love to have us join the team! We were both so excited about not one but 2 part time jobs! We wont be starting until after we return from our vacation at the end of February but that's right around the corner from now. There are lots of paperwork and orientation that comes with a new job but I don't mind.

After leaving the office we went to my favorite local yarn store, Knitting Central.
How else does a yarn addict/knitter celebrate? By buying yarn, thats how! It was either yarn or makeup and my husband wants another Half-Pipe Hat. It certainly was an easy knit and I need some mindless knitting for the long drive to Florida.

In other news my cousin's baby shower is next week so I need to be done with the Baby Kimono I've been working on forever. Its a seamless one and it's a lot of fun to do since there are no seams to close at the end. I am presently working on the sleeves and had to buy another skein of Zara Merino in white because I only had 2. The pattern called for the yardage of 2 skeins but I soon realized the sweater would have either short or 3/4 sleeves if I didn't purchase more yarn.

The first shipment of the BlueMoon Fiber Arts Notorious Sock Knitters (Rockin' Socks Club) for 2009 arrived on my doorstep the other day. It was missing a few items thanks to the 3-4 inch gash in the tyvek envelope. I e-mailed them and they are sending replacements to me ASAP which was very nice of them. The yarn and the pattern is GORGEOUS and I didn't get a pic of it (sorry). Its a Sivia Harding design that incorporated beads into the knitting. I have never done any beaded knitting but I have always done the first pattern from the club so why stop now. It has always introduced something new to my knitting whether it be toe up socks or short row heels and I have always completed it well. I plan on starting them as soon as I finish with the other socks (they are almost done). Beaded knitting is certainly not good for vacation knitting and driving in a car for long periods of time. Could you imagine if I dropped the beads? Oh no, not a good thing.

My Namaste Zuma Bag in the limited edition colorway eggplant finally came in the mail and I am in love with it! Its a lot smaller than my other Namaste Cali collection bag (cant remember the exact name). but it holds a lot of stuff none the less.

My daughter celebrated her 9th birthday this month! I cant believe she was born 9 years ago. Where does all the time go?

That's all the exciting news for January!

Friday, January 16, 2009

The Best of Friends

If this story doesn't bring a tear to your eye then I don't know what will.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

The First Finished Object of 2009

This hat is Half-Pipe from Deb Stollers Stitch n Bitch book with all the men's patterns. After knitting it you insert a plastic mesh piece thats cut in the shape of a crescent and it becomes the brim of the hat. Its very easy to do and I actually stitched it in place while my husband had it on his head as to not make a mistake or have the brim fold the wrong way. He LOVES it! I used Tahki Tweedy Alpaca (1.5 skeins) and I fell in love with it. Its so soft and fluffy and feels so good to knit with it makes me want to go out and buy enough to make a sweater with. BUT it is a little pricey for me to make a sweater. There are only 81 yards in each skein so you would need a lot and at almost $9/each it would be more than $100 to make a sweater. Right now I am trying to use the yarns I have in my stash and save money for bills and our upcoming vacation next month.
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I am in the process of finishing a seamless baby kimono that I was making for my friends brother's new baby girl. I realized however that its way to small to fit her since she's turning 3 months at the end of January. The pattern says its 3-6 month size but I dont think she is going to get much use out of it. I've decided to make something for a 12 month old and send it to her so she can have something to wear in the Fall when it gets cooler and she will be able to wear it and have it actually fit her.
There are also the Rockin' Sock Club Socks that I havent finished from the summer. The 2009 club starts sending out the first package the 3rd week of January so my goal is to finish them so I can start the 2009 clubs socks. I always get the first 3-4 pair knitted and then things get crazy around the holidays and I slack off. It happened last year also. It didnt help that last year I was in 3 sock clubs either. This year its just 2 clubs: The Rockin' Sock Club and Woolgirl's Sock Club. They both are awesome but I am really looking forward to Woolgirls this year. She is promising its going to be awesome!

My daughters 9th birthday is this weekend and we are going to see a movie of her choice. She wants to see HOTEL FOR DOGS. Everyone else wants to see BEDTIME STORIES. Hopefully HOTEL FOR DOGS wont be too bad.

Since its a new year I usually post goals for the year and now is as good a time as any. Here are some of my goals for 2009:

1) Reach my goal weight this year! I am slowly working my way there and have lost 27 lbs so far. I have about 20-25 lbs to go to reach where I want to be.

2) Exercise more whether I join a gym or do it on my own.

3) Become a faster knitter while still being a quality knitter. I know I knit slow and I do get distracted easily so I have to finish what I start. Either finish it or frog it. I joined a group on Ravelry dedicated to this purpose.

4) Get a part time or per diem job to bring some income into the home. Times are tough for everyone and I am trying to get a job as a RN in my town so I wouldnt have to drive far and I can work around my husband's and kid's schedules.

5) Take a romantic vacation alone with my husband after the family vacation.

6) Sell more jewelry on my Etsy shop.

7) Walk with my Mom in the 2009 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. This will be my first year doing it and my mothers 3rd. I have been unable in the past due to my leg issues but I am getting into shape and it should be OK by October.

I am sure there are some I forgot but I'll add them later.
Hope everyone has a great long weekend and stay warm!

Thursday, January 08, 2009

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
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A Deer in our yard
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This is a sign I put on a beam in my kitchen to always remind me of the train ride called life
Words to live by

Christmas morning
Sean & Kali on Christmas Morning

In front of the RC Christmas Tree
The Ornas in NYC

RC Christmas Tree
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Swarovski Crystal Tree in Radio City Music Hall
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My almost 14 year old doxie, the best in the world
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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!