First three day weekend

This is the first of my three day weekends, building to my week off for the holidays.  It was great.  I got a lot of stuff done and am plugging right along on my 'Get Ready for Christmas' list.  It's been great. 

First, I got the entire front of the living room cleaned up.  Things are put away, including the two fair totes.  Steve took the old TV stand downstairs and actually got two of the 'not working' televisions to Best Buy for recycling.  He says he is going to take the other two that are in the basement over later this week.  YEAH!!!  More trash out the door.

Started working on the kitchen.  Hopefully I'll work on it some Thursday night and get it done over next weekend.  Got some of the dishes done and recycling gathered up.

Did all the laundry.  Yes, all of it is folded and put away.

Worked on knitted Christmas gifts.  Should meet my first goal this week easily. The hat is coming along nicely.  It looks pretty good, but is one of many.  I have two more hats to make and would like to make a couple of these really cute mice ornaments.  I have everything I need, but just need a few minutes.

At work, we've chosen our 2012 Christmas recepient.  It's a good choice.  I just need to come up with something for tomorrow.  I got us all set up on Friday.

Things I need to do over the next week:

1. Finish at least one hat.  That means some major knit time
2. Finish my first Pinterest item.  It's looking pretty good - entirely painted and ready to put together.
3. Check Christmas Card list and make up cards for at least the church people.
4. Clean the 2nd part of the living room.  This may take some time, since there is so much piled there, but a lot of it can be donated, condensed or put away.
5. Clean half the kitchen.  Ialready have it started, so it shouldn't take long.

It always helps to have it in writing.

Tomorrow and Wednesday are knit nights, so I won't be working on household stuff too much.  I do have some items I want to make up for the holidays. Baylor will be home on Friday, so I'd like to have some things done.

A sock finished

This is a photo of a friend, Cindy.  She is holding her FIRST SOCK!!!!  I am really excited for her.  We've been working on this sock for about two months.  It is a proud moment.  I am really excited for her and believe we got another hooked.  Now she needs to finish the second one to complete the pair.  These are going to her grandson. 

You can see the pride in her eyes!

Writing

Writing seems to be something I do a lot.  I write in my journal, really my planner, stuff I want to remember.  I add funny little cartoons I see on facebook or on the web.  Things that strike my fancy .  Things that make me laugh.  Things that make me think.  I write about appointments, things I need to do, people I want to remember, and, most importantly  I write about papers I have due.

At work I write up procedures.  How to do all the things that I do.  You would think this is pretty intuitive, but apparently not.  I think the things I do are pretty blah, but they aren't.  People inside my building don't know all the things I do or how they need to be done.  I find it pretty amazing, but it is true.

I write for my classes.  I am always writing a paper, fretting over writing a paper, worrying over the grade I am going to get on a paper, considering how I could have done a paper better, or re-writing a paper.  Occasionally, I get to bask in the glow of having a finished paper turned in.  That usually lasts about a day.  Not much time at all.

So now I am embarquing on a new quest.  I have joined NaNoWriMo.  What is that you ask?  Good question.  November is National Novel Writing Month.  You try to write a book (in my case, a collection of short stories) in a month.  No editing (whew!  That takes off a lot of pressure), just writing.  Writing 1600 words a day.  I know, some people look at that and think OMG That's a LOT!  But really it isn't.  So far, this work has taken me about 10 minutes and I have three hundred words.  About an hour a day of complete writing will get me close to 1600 words a day.  No sweat.

So what will I be writing on?  I don't know... what ever comes to mind.  No editing and no path.  It should be interesting.

The end of summer

Well, the end of the summer is near and there has been so much go on.  We've had our county fair and Baylor did really well.  We got to enjoy two weeks with Brandon Ingerman - Ethan's best friend and a young man I am proud to know.  I am still working on Camp Loopy projects and going through a lot of yarn without getting anything done.

County Fair

 As I said, Baylor did really well, bringing home 4 blue rosettes - one for his grass hay, one for his alfalfa hay and two for his steer.  He won his class in both the FFA show on Wednesday and the Clark County Cattle Producers on Thursday.  It was the best he's ever done.

We missed one of our integral parts of our fair in the person of Donna Fry.  She was in Alabama at her daughter's house and didn't come to the fair.  We really missed her.  I learned a lot about the paperwork, though.

John Nixon was also highly missed and well as my mom.  It's amazing how you always think that certain people will always be at the fair.  When they aren't, it's very sad.



Brandon Ingerman

It's always great when Brandon is home on leave.  He is in the army and we worry about him when he's gone. He's a great young man with a wonderful sense of humor.  I love that he was home during the fair this time.  We got him a fair pass so he could come and go as he pleased, which was perfect.  The best part is that everyone he wanted to see was at the fair, so he only had to go to the fair and see everyone. 

Camp Loopy

I've been working on Camp Loopy projects and gotten exactly 0 done.  I am still working on them, though. 

Lastly, my poor little wubbie broke his leg earlier this week.  We aren't real sure how it happened, just that it did.  He had a plate put in and is walking on it OK.  Hopefully, he'll heal up well and be good as new in no time.

Live from home

Presenting the first post from my home!  Yep, that's right, I bought a laptop and finally joined the 21st century.  I bought an HP.  It's pretty good, has lots of storage and Beats audio.  It takes me a few minutes to get used to the straight keyboard after using the ergo one all day, but I found I am addicted to the internet and am not getting much done.

I am making myself do something else - anything else- for a while before I allow myself to get on again.  I need to get away from a computer screen occasionally.  But there is just so much cool stuff out there, waiting to be discovered, waiting to be looked at.

Baylor's Party

Baylor's grad party was wonderful.  There must have been 200 people that showed up to enjoy the day with him.  Even though it was hot, it was still a lot of fun.  The party officially ended at 7, but there were people enjoying themselves until 10.  Baylor was going to Matt's party, but never made it to that party.  I think B had a great time even though he kept saying he didn't want a party.

Heat

It has been so hot this month.  June was down 5 inches for rainfall, yet we had about 10 days over 90.  This is crazy.  July came in at 90's and it doesn't look like it will change anytime soon.  I ache all over and I  don't know if its because of the heat or my age. 

Procrastination

That was the subject of the Yarn Harlot's post today.  How the charming, handsome beast will raise his head just when you need to get stuff done and tell you: "It will be alright, sit down and watch a movie." "you can get this done in no time, no need to go through those photos now."

Yes, the charming beast has been purring in my ear as well.  It's only 5 days until Baylor's grad party, one until his birthday.  What have I got done?  Well, as of lunch today, I got photos chosen (some need to be printed yet, but I'll do that tonight), and table coverings purchased.  What needs done?  A long, long list of stuff:

1. Get photo boards ready
2. Purchase drinks/ chips
3. Prepare dishes and take them to the shop
4. What other decorations do you need?
5. Order a birthday cake for Baylor

I'm sure there is a lot more, but all I can think is that I really want to go home and knit or read for the next 6 hours.  Add to that the 4H meeting tonight at the flower beds and Knit Night on Wednesday or Thursday and I am pretty busy.  I know I'll get it all done, just the when of it all.

My Wingspan scarf is coming out nicely.  If one the camera would play nice with this computer, I would post a photo or two.  I've come to the conclusion that I will not finish Baylor's hat by his grad party, but can still have it done in a timely fashion, hopefully before fair.  That's my next deadline.

Mother's Day

I know it's the day after Mother's Day.  But there are some really amazing women in my circle of friends that deserve a bit of a shout out.

To my knit night friends:  What would I do without you?  We laugh and cry together.  We support each other, not just in our fiber endeavors, but in our life endeavors.  We've only been together for two years, yet it's like we've always known each other.  We encourage each other to push our limitations to see what we can accomplish.  We show each other our favorite (yarn, patterns, recipes, etc.).  You are the sisters of my heart that I love to spend time with.  I am so glad to have met you and have you with this bumpy ride. 

To my church friends: You are my spiritual life line, helping me find my way through the darkness that can sometimes come.  Thank you for your friendship and support during our past few months.

To my sisters: What can I say?  We are as different as night and day, as alike as monarch butterflies.  We disagree, and live on opposite sides of any issue.  Just watch one of us bring up an issue, and you'll find at least one other that disagrees.  Yet, we agree to respect the other's opinion.   We've grown up together and have so much history, stories to tell our children and grandchildren.  Thank goodness for all these forms of electronic communication, so we can talk all the time.

To my friends:  You know who you are, the wonderful women I've met over the years through all the other organizations we've been involved with - 4H, FFA, sports, just our past histories together.  All the times we've laughed and cryed together.

To my daughters: Yes, some of you reading this will be surprised to know I have multiple daughters.  No, I only gave birth to one, but these are all young women who are daughters none the less.  I've watched you grow into these amazing women who are interesting and intelligent, beautiful and strong.  Never underestimate yourself.

All of these women are strong, independent, and have made me the woman I am today.  I am so fortunate to know these women.

New Beginnings

I'm done with my exam, done with my project, done for the summer.  It's time to get in some R&R and to have a relaxing summer.  YEAH!

So, here is the plan for the summer.  Ethan will be home in two, yes count them two days!  I am so excited.  Check this out.  He ran at Allegheny this past weekend.  They had 20 posters of participants from different schools. Ethan was one of them.  It's a cool poster.

Baylor will be done in 7 days.  YEAH! He has Farm Day on Friday, so he's not counting Friday.  Saturday is the NE Band Dodgeball Tournament and he has a team together.  Ethan is on it.  Now if Brandon was home, the team would be unstoppable!  They are calling themselves the White Stallions.

Commencement is coming up and I need to get announcements addressed this weekend.  I have a list that I am having Steve and Baylor check, just to be sure I catch everyone.  I can't believe it's coming up so fast.

Goodbyes

Sorry I haven't been blogging.  My life is in such disarray.  The roller coaster of life continues in our world.

On March 7, Steve's mom passed away.  It was expected and hospice had called him in about two weeks before she actually passed.  We had the usual ceremonies and lots of people coming and going for days at our home.

On April 13, my mom passed away.  She slipped quietly into death while we were watching Jeopardy.  It was expected, but no less hard.  Lou, Barb and I were sitting with her almost constantly over the days before her passing.  We had funny stories to tell and lots of sisterly time. 

We've also lost a couple of friends in this time.  Goodbye to John Nixon and Marion Neer.  We had a great time while you were here.  My only regret is the things we didn't get to do together.  You think there will always be another cattle show, another fair.  Death lets you know there are no guarantees.

On the good side:  Baylor is my official scholar athlete.  They didn't have this award while Ethan was in school, but now they are recognizing students that have an A/B average at the sports awards.  They announced by sport and Baylor was called up for the wrestlers.  I kept waiting for someone else to be called up but he was the only one!  What a hoot!

He is also going to the Academic Acheivement awards in May.  But first, we have to get through the FFA Banquet tomorrow evening.  It will be a real sob-fest, since Baylor is a senior.  I will have my tissues on hand.  Cannot wait to see what he says.  Another good-bye, though, to my career as a parent in the school district.  It's been fun. 

4H started up a few weeks ago and we have a great, wonderful, interested bunch of members this year.  I think it will be a great time.  We are already making plans for our booth and a club project. 

Ethan will be home for the summer in two short weeks.  That will be good.

So, give your mommas and daddys a hug.  Tell your friends how important they are to you.  Enjoy your time with your kids while they are in school.  It all goes by way too fast.

At an end

Well, we are at the end of it... the end of wrestling season, the end of Baylor's senior year, the end of having kids in the public school system.

Wow, who would've guessed. When you hold these little babies in your arms, it seems like they will always be little. On the nights they don't sleep and all you want is a few hours rest, you think it will never happen. Then all at once, your babies are all grown. I know it sounds like such a cliche, but it is true.

We were looking at Baylor's photo album the other night. He's really good at keeping it up, it's not me, that's for sure. There were photos of him with every calf he ever showed: his little brown swiss, Three Spot, Patrick, BooBoo, all of them. There are multiple photos of Baylor asleep. Apparently he's slept the same way all his life: flat on his back with his mouth open. We have baby photos of it and here is one from last year's fair.

Hopefully, we will have another week of wrestling... if he makes it out of sectionals. Cross your fingers and hope for it folks. I'm not quite ready to end it yet. I need to get a photo montage ready for the FFA Banquet coming up in a few weeks. I want to get photos ready for the coaches. I need to tell Baylor that I'll take him, Cole and Justin to lunch when they come over for graduation practice.

So I guess the next step for me is to find some stuff to keep me busy for the next few years. I've already told all my kids that when they have kids don't be surprised to hear me whispering to them 'Grandma will come watch you do whatever you want, but I like football and wrestling best.'

February blues

Wow! I was just reviewing my annual goals. What have I accomplished? Zip. As they say: if you want to see God laugh, tell him your plans.

In this case, He said "that's nice, but I have other plans for you". So, I've been messing around trying to get my mom to a state of wellness for the last 5 weeks. She's had doctor appointments every week. I don't mind going, it just takes sooooo much out of the day. I believe we will find a leveling off soon, though.

Add to this the end of Baylor's wrestling season - the busiest part of the season - with the OHC's and Sectionals coming up. I'm not missing any of that. I need to watch my boys wrestle, as this will be the last for a while.

Then, I have sisters coming and telling me what I need to give up, what I need to do, etc. etc. Perhaps instead of telling me what I need to do, they should just come in and say 'I'll do it for this amount of time'. That would be much more helpful. My older sister would shit a chicken if she knew how much I was doing that I DIDN"T mention to her.

Finally, my coworker is on vacation. This may sound kind of odd, but that means that I am trying to do her job and mine on a daily basis. It is usually a quiet time of the year, but I have been slammed with stuff to do from her side of the room. Just when I think I am 'caught up' - SLAM! Another big project, or one that is sensitive.

So, what have I accomplished on my list? Well, let's review:

1. Bedroom Closet : Still a mess, probably more so now as I just throw everything in the bottom. I told DH I was going to re-do it in March.

2. Gift Wrap Station: Haven't looked at it since Christmas

3. Laundry Room: Nada

4. Garage: Nada

5. Christmas: About where I was last time I wrote about it.

1. Swap Cleanup: Well, I look at it every day, does that count?

2. Hats & Gloves: Honestly, this is a late-summer project.

3. Living Room cabinet: Yep, nothing going on here either.

1.Shelves for bookcases: I was going to start this in March, so it doesn't count.

2. Mantle: August/ Sept - again doesn't count. Also, I was afraid we were going to loose the house, so what was the use?

3. Doork Locks: I need to get this done. I hate that back door lock not working correctly.

1. Christmas presents: Yeah, right. I haven't finished one from LAST Christmas.

2. Knit a hat a month : Well, technically I got one done, but it brought such bad luck for the team, I sent it far far away.

3. knitting for me: Have yarn grouped together to get started, just have to start.

4. Weigh less: Well, as a stress eater, it has not been good. I was going to do Zumba at work, but just cannot fit it in to my schedule.

As you can see, pretty much I have made zero progress. Perhaps after the season is over it will be easier. I know my sisters want to work on Mom's house, but it won't be every weekend, and if it is, they can just spend a few without me.

Ah, well. Off to dream about knitwear yet to be made.

Wrestling and knitting

These two things, though they seem different, are actually very connected. When I sit at wrestling meets, I knit. Knitting helps me deal with the stress of watching Baylor wrestle.

So, I completed an infinity scarf for Barbara on December 22, while watching Baylor wrestle at the Catholic Central Irish Holiday tournament. He placed 2nd at that tournament. Amazingly so did Cole Howard.

At the Lima Central Catholic tournament on December 30, he didn't do very well, going 3 and 2. He did get his 100th win in, though. I worked on another infinity scarf, this one for Mom. Didn't finish either.

At the Mechanicsburg/ Greenview/ NE tri meet January 5, he went 1 and 1, beating Greenview, but not the 'Burg. He did elbow Tilley in the nose, though and bloodied his nose pretty good. I worked on the scarf some more. Cole got his 100th win and they are now tied at 101 each.

January 7 was the Clark County Clash. Baylor went 5 and 0 with 4 pins and won the tournament for his weight class. It was GLORIOUS!!! Cole did the same thing and they are still tied. It was great that both of them have placed the same in both tournaments. Hopefully, they will continue. I really believe that now that both have their 100th win, they will do better, because the rest is all icing on the cake. I finished the infinity scarf and started a tea cozy, that I promptly ripped out. Still cannot decide what to make for the Christmas party, but I believe it will be the Dead Fish hat - since it's funny.

Next is the Shawnee Super Tri on January 11. It should be pretty good.

New year/ new opportunities

So here we are in 2012. Some believe this is the end, that on Dec. 21, our world will end. It may, but I don't think it will be the biblical fire-raining-from-the-sky end. It could be as simple as an uprising of the middle class, which I've been predicting for years.

But in my world, the new year brings new opportunities. I am looking to do some projects around my house and work on some self-improvement. If the world does end, my house is gonna be ready for it.

So here is my list. Not really resolutions, but just things I want to accomplish in 2012.

Cleaning/ organization:

1. Bedroom Closet organization - I want to put up new shelves on each end for folded clothes, baskets, whatever. Use double hanging on the sides for various shirts, skirts and pants. I only want about 4' of standard hanging for the few dresses I own. This will also help me re-evaluate what we have in our closet and perhaps give me NEW clothes that I haven't seen in years.


2. Gift wrap station - Yes, its a little excessive, but I have a gift wrap station in the basement. Actually, it has turned into about 4' of gift wrapping area with a lot of other stuff on the table. It needs gone through, stuff needs to be either pitched, sold or donated. I have tons of ribbon and gift wrap and once it's all organized I'll be able to wrap stuff like nobody's business.


3. Laundry Room - I know, this is on my list every year, but with the washing machine floods of the summer, it is deperately needed. I will wait until Ethan goes back to school, since having this stuff all through the house will make him CRAZY! Currently, I am looking at March to get this done.


4. Garage Cleaning - I wanted to be able to park in the garage this winter, but it looks like another year of parking outside. Steve said he was going to do this, but if it's not done by April/May - it becomes my job. I really need a roll-off.


5. Christmas Decorations - Ethan put away the decorations last year and I had a hard time finding everything this year. I plan on taking down the tree and packing up everything January 14 - 15. I've already started on this.

These items are downsizing measures. There are tons of things we no longer need and although a lot of the cleaning and organization above is part of that, this will go towards it as well.

1. Swap cleanup - I've been doing swaps for years and have them EVERYWHERE. I want to mark special items/ yarn from swaps so I know where it came from and incorporate it into my regular stuff.


2. Hats and gloves - there is always a need for these items and we have far too many hats and gloves. Steve is obsessed with them and constantly buys them. I am going to donate the ones we don't use to an organization - maybe our church.


3. Stuff under the living room cabinet - I'm not even sure what is under there or in the drawers, but it needs to be resolved. There is some paper, some swaps, photos, etc. etc.

These items will make our home better and just need done:

1. Shelves for bookcases - I love my new Ikea bookcases, but I need some additional shelves. I believe 4 15" and 2 30" will be sufficient.


2. Put up mantle - My sisters bought me a mantle years ago and it is sitting in the basement. I think August or September would be a good time to paint the living room and put up this mantle.


3. Change door locks - Our door locks are serviceable, but have 'glitches' in them. The one on the front door is bent, the one on the back door is falling apart. My goal is to replace one every other month until I have new door locks all around.

Stuff for the soul. These items are just stuff I do to make myself happy:

1. Start Christmas presents now so I have a few hand-made items for family members.


2. Knit a hat a month for the church so they have hats to give out with their coats.


3. Work on at least 3 knitted items for ME!


4. Turn 53 with less weight on my body than I have now. This will mean going to Zumba again and watching what I eat.

I think that's about it. Best wishes in your new year. I wish you all health and well-being in the coming months.