Pick Two

A thoroughly modern Meg

2012-01-08T20:30:00.000-05:00

There is this super cute saying/poster/decor item going around on Pinterest...
(for which I want to give super-props to Junk Garden, which is chock full of the most delicious eye-candy online today, and is also well curated IMHO)

Source: junkgardengirl.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

The crazy thing is that on the average day, I pick one. Sad. Goal: accomplish two.

a little berserk

2011-12-29T12:02:00.000-05:00

fortune cookie fortune taped to wall in newly-acquired office:

If you want to win anything - a race, your self, your life - you have to go a little berserk.

Behind the times

2010-08-31T11:12:00.000-04:00

The blog fad may be over, but I kind of miss this. I think the constant facebook updates have stolen all my blogging time! I want to catch up to the ABC-Along, so pictures forthcoming.

I've also given up on the 30th birthday bucket list. It's amazing how I'm not worried about what I'm accomplishing and when now that I'm back to work. When I was unemployed, I really felt this need to prove that I was not wasting my life, that I was having important experiences and achieving. Now, the fact that I'm writing a blog post at 11:09 on a Tuesday tells another story, but work has me accomplishing plenty. The summer has been busy, I'm happy. No real need for the list. There are some things on there that I still want to do, but it's just not as pressing now that I have my identity back.

Speaking of a busy summer, I'm looking so forward to fall. Autumn is by far my favorite season, and I have lots of plans for quiet times and being at home to share.

Well with the best of intentions - back to my work day!

2010-05-23T14:44:00.003-04:00

My idea from 2 post and 2 months ago was to blog the whole house-buying process. Yeah that didn't happen. I'm so sick of thinking and talking about it, the last thing I felt like doing was rehashing everything... I'm starting again to thing of some new content for this blog (flashback to 2 years ago?) Any advice?

The obsession continues

2010-04-02T19:54:00.001-04:00

We have not found the one, or sold our house, but I am visiting my in-laws, at a coffee shop "working" on their wi-fi and house-stalking. This is what passes for taking the weekend off from thinking about the move.

we may have found the one

2010-03-29T09:42:00.002-04:00

We saw a house Sunday. I dont' want to speak too soon and call it "our house," but it will be ours. It's amazing. It's everything we could want from a city house and more. We can see our family growing and loving our life there.

The reaction to just walking in the front door was legendary. I didn't even make it past the front door for a couple of minutes. DeuceDad stood in the foyer turning in circles just trying to take it all in. I had to tell myself "pick your jaw up off the floor before the agent sees you."

As we walked through the house, we were so struck by it that DeuceDad forgot to look in the attic or the garage! He did make it down to the basement, so he wasn't completely possessed.

In the meantime, our realtor was having open house at our place. She had quite a crowd, and there are some follow up viewings today (and she's expecting an offer this afternoon). So my idea of coming to work and having a day completely focused on working is not really going to pan out.

3 Showings and an offer

2010-03-27T18:08:00.002-04:00

Yeah, it's like 3 weddings and a funeral.

No, no I'm just being dramatic.

The house went on the market Wednesday, we had 2 showings Friday and one Saturday (today) and got an offer this afternoon (Saturday). It was less than we want, and of course after only being on the market for 4 days we're not jumping to accept a lowball offer. And we have an open house tomorrow.

But considering we don't have a place to go yet, I'm not worried.

Bloggin, and Tweetin, and Stressin, and Bloggin

2010-03-26T09:40:00.002-04:00

(to the tune of "Wishin' and Hopin'")

I don't Tweet. No real reason, but I don't.
I don't blog. Let's face it - 2 posts a month isn't bloggin.
But I stress.
And we're selling our house. Again.
And buying another one again.
So I'm going to blog about it.

Good Fortune

2010-03-19T16:38:00.004-04:00

I got an interesting fortune in my fortune cookie today:

Land is always in the mind of the flying birds.

I love when a fortune is appropo.

I wish I could say that I was making this look easy - working full time, young son, remodeling house and moving - but I'm not. At least, my body decided to quit faking it so well. I caught Deuce's cold (flu?) and it's one of the worst I've ever had. I'll spare you the details, but I'm functioning at about 30% so you can imagine how that's working out.

After my year at home, I can finally say what I want from my life - land. A family, a place to call home, a stable job and money to keep the lights on. It's all so close. Within the next year it's possible for me to have everything I want. I just need to flap my wings when I can, ride the current when I can, and come down when I can.

Gotta live my life to get boots like these

2010-03-01T14:17:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since I posted. Not for lack of anything to say, that's for sure.

The title of this post is about two things I want to share - one is that my Sporto boots are totally waterproof. It's 37 degrees after about 2 feet of snowfall here, so the sidewalks are like lakes. But my feet are dry!

The other is that I'm enamored with Ben Harper and the Relentless 7's album White Lies for Dark Times, which has a song "Boots Like These" that has been stuck in my head since I got the CD. I love rock & roll music. This is a rock & roll album. I like a lot of Ben Harper's music and most of the musicians he's recorded with, but this is my bag right here. Visit the website for unlimited listening to the full albums!

I also have been considering reshaping the blog somewhat - perhaps to "A Thoroughly Modern Mommy." But of course, some other people thought of this first. First there's Thoroughly Modern Mommy (think mommy blogger meets The Onion). Also see Thoroughly Modern Momma - mom and musician's wife who seems to have a sense of humor about her Christiantasticness or whatever you call that.

I just think the whole "adventures in/of" is played out. It was played out when I started, but it was my first blog, so I didn't know.

Oh well, right now I'm working on a little thing called "Get off the internet and work." Wish me luck.

C is for Carriage House

2010-02-07T20:57:00.002-05:00

Still decked out in it's holiday trimmings, this carriage house seems to have a residence above it, a hydrangea in front, and is painted up in period colors and finished off with wrought iron details and gate.

I imagine that owning a home with a carriage house like this inspires the owner to plant manicured gardens and hang linen or lace curtains. Maybe a person might serve iced tea with mint in the summer and read by the fireside in the winter.

Owning a historic home must require a special balance of modernizing while maintaining the historic character. What about the person who rents the rooms above the carriage house? I suppose that person must value a unique living experience over the conveniences of an apartment building.

This carriage house really picqued my curiousity. Maybe our new home might have something like this to inspire me.

B is for Benches

2010-02-01T12:40:00.003-05:00

The snow in the Northeast sometimes seems to bury entire neighborhoods and discourage people entirely from venturing outside. These benches in a heavily traveled pedestrian area clearly haven't been used in some time. At least since the last snowfall.

The tree trunks in the background are wrapped with Christmas lights, which no one will turn on again before they are taken off the trees in the spring. It's quiet and peaceful in this little courtyard, but spring will be here soon.

Chunky V. - a crocheted scarf

2010-01-19T11:04:00.003-05:00

This is a scarf I made quite a while ago. I want to try my hand at publishing patterns, so I wrote this up and am sharing it. The crochet is beginner level, and it's a quick one skein project to highlight a soft bulky yarn.

Chunky V.
by DeuceMom

A subtle pattern for a simple, cozy scarf to crochet.

Yarn: 1 skein Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky 100 grams/108 yards, or substitute a bulky weight yarn

Hook: US K-10.5/6.5 mm

Gauge: approximately 11 sts, 4 rows DC = 4”x4”. Gauge is not very important for this project.

Finished size: At gauge stated above, finished product measures 5”x 50”

Instructions:
Chain 15. Last 2 chain sts are turning chain.
Row 1: DC in 3rd chain from hook. DC across, 13 sts.
Row 2: DC 6, chain 1, skip 1, DC6, turn
Row 3: DC 5, chain 1, skip 1, DC 1, chain 1, skip 1, DC 5, turn
Row 4: DC 4, chain 1, skip 1, DC 3, chain 1, skip 1, DC 4, turn
Row 5: DC 3, chain 1, skip 1, DC 5, chain 1, skip 1, DC 3, turn
Row 6: DC 2, chain 1, skip 1, DC 7, chain 1, skip 1, DC 2, turn
Row 7: DC 1, chain 1, skip 1, DC 4, chain 1, skip 1, DC 4, chain 1, skip 1, DC 1, turn

Repeat rows 3-7 10 more times

To end the scarf, DC across, turn, SC across. Break yarn and weave in ends.

A is for Architecture

2010-01-18T19:29:00.003-05:00

ABC Along 2010, starting off 3 days late, in keeping with tradition from 2008 and 2009.

This year's theme is going to be architectural details from Rochester, NY. I grew up outside the city, and our relocation in 2008 was back to that area. We will move to the city itself in the next year, so I am doing some exploring.

My first little excursion was into Corn Hill, so named because it used to be a hill covered in... corn fields. Shocking.

It's mainly a residential area now with some law offices and other businesses scattered throughout. It is sandwiched in between a troubled neighborhood and Center City (the clever name for the center of downtown), so it has immaculately maintained buildings alongside a few deteriorating ones. I took some shots of homes that haven't weathered the years as well, and I hope to share some of those too.

Rochester's Landmark Society (on the placard above) provides maps of registered homes, but it's kind of like hide and seek to find them on my own.

I hope to learn a lot more about the city this year, since I'm going to be a resident soon.

Z is for Zephyr

2010-01-13T11:05:00.002-05:00

This is the last letter in ABC Along 2009, and though I'm 2 weeks late, I'm still going to finish up because I have a good Z

For my birthday, my knitting SIL got me... Knit Picks Options! I've been wanting these so much for the year that I've been knitting. For non-knitting readers, they are interchangable knitting needles, with different sized needle tips you can attach to different length cords.

They also are super economical because you don't have to buy every different length of every different needle size, plus you can store a project on the cord and use the tips elsewhere.

They come in nickle plated, wood, or acrylic - mine are the Zephyr acrylic set.

Here they are in the pouch they come in - depending on how big the collection grows there are binders and all kinds of cute storage options.

And here's my size 5's ready for action!

They look lighted from the reflection of the flash in this picture. They're actually completely clear. It takes a little getting used to because they are so clear that you can actually see the back side of the stitch and it can look like another stitch on the needle. It didn't take very long to get the hang of it. I have a "Just Enough Ruffles" scarf on right now that requires a stitch in the front then the back then the front of the same stitch and I'm wondering if the clearness is going to make that easier or harder.

Well that wraps up ABC Along 2009! Z is for Zephyr!

I'm gonna let it shine

2010-01-12T14:39:00.004-05:00

I'm a little down.

I have some stress happening, with home improvements to get our house ready to sell and my generally busier schedule. It's the after-Christmas letdown. The days are short and it is cold.

Unfortunately, I don't just get to curl up under a blanket, sip hot cocoa and watch movies all day and night until it warms up outside. Even when I think about calling in sick so I'll have a day to myself, I know I can't sit in my house and relax with so much to do, so I might as well go to work and save the day for when I'm sick, not just feeling sick and tired.

I don't completely know the answer. I know I get like this every so often and I know that life will settle just enough time for it to turn upside down again. So I might as well embrace it, right?

First thing this morning I was looking for my camera, but the camera bag was empty. I left for work wondering where it might be. I went home at lunch time because I was concerned about the camera's well-being, and my own well-being if something had happened to it. It was in my knitting bag. That means I haven't been doing much knitting, much photography, or much housework.

Finding the camera was a relief and suddenly Sam Cooke's version of "This Little Light of Mine" popped into my head.

The camera's not gone. It was safe and sound. Just misplaced. I hope to find my sanity in much the same condition.

Review a movie in ten words or less: Seven Pounds

2010-01-11T10:47:00.003-05:00

Moving and touching but predictable. Best part was the dog.

(Want more words? Read here.)

Review a movie in 10 words or less: UP

2010-01-04T12:57:00.003-05:00

Watch twice to enjoy even more jokes and animation details.

(Want more words? Read this.)

Y is for Yucky Yarn

2009-12-29T09:13:00.001-05:00

Won't this make a sweaty baby blanket?

Maybe I could make a scarf out of this and it could freeze to my neck.

But it's still in my stash... I want to use it up so that it's not "wasted." Issues I tell ya, issues.

X is for the "X" through knitted Chrismas gifts that are not finished

2009-12-23T11:37:00.002-05:00

I know a bad idea when I say one. "I will make my dad socks and finish my mom's sweater for Christmas." I hadn't even completed those thoughts before I know it wouldn't happen.

I tried to order the rest of the yarn for "Amused," but when I found out that the yarn was backordered until January... well, what's a knitter to do?

I consulted Ann Budd's "Getting Started Knitting Socks" to see what would be required to make men's size 12 socks. I immediately bought something else for my dad.

I don't always enjoy knitting (knotted yarn? tinking back?), but I don't like to get done with something and know I half-assed it.

Take for example, the world's worst felted item: my crochet hook case

I didn't do a gauge swatch, and didn't read any instructions on felting, and eventually this ended up in the garbage.

"Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything." - Xenophon

So I bought Christmas gifts and will make the knitted items in good time. And hopefully I'll have some fun doing it.

W is for Washable Wool

2009-12-22T09:26:00.002-05:00

I have recently made an Executive Knitting Decision that I will only use washable wool for projects that could come into contact with water and are expected to survive.

As I understand it, superwash wool is chemically treated to alter the scales of the fiber to prevent it from felting. In my mind, "hand knit" and "chemically treated" belong in two separate realms. But this, like unleaded gasoline and caffienated beverages, has become vital in my world.
Both the hat that I crocheted for DeuceDad and the hat I knitted for my dad were washer victims this year. I can't be angry. I know I've ruined my fair share of hand wash items using my washing appliances. They both were more disappointed than I was - apparently the hats were hits.

So they're both getting new ones made of Cascade 220 Superwash:

Using that as a lesson, I've been much more careful about my yarn purchases lately: Plymouth Select worsted, Dream in Color classy, Knit Picks stroll sport, and sock yarns - all beautiful, all wool, or mostly wool, and all washable.

"Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes." Oscar Wilde

V is for Variegated

2009-12-21T11:50:00.001-05:00

I love variegated yarn and I've added some to my stash recently just as treats to myself. I'll use it too, but you can't deny the pretty.

U is for UFOs

2009-12-21T11:41:00.002-05:00

UFOs - Unfinished Objects!

I just have a crazy number of partially done projects in every corner of the house, and my yarn projects are no exception. This is "the afghan" that I started for my Grandma Anne's 90th birthday 2 years ago. I bought a pattern book, about 15 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver, because this thing is a yarn eater and that was the only way I was going to be able to afford to make it, and got to work. I worked feverishly evening after evening until I sat back and realized that I only had 12 inches done... I would never get this thing done for her February birthday. So I abandoned ship and crocheted something quick - which she totally loves!

Why am I hanging on to this UFO I don't intend to finish? No good reason. Maybe it's time to toss it.

Birthday Presents for Moi

2009-12-18T14:45:00.003-05:00

I did a little lunch-break yarn shopping and got some birthday presents.

This is some Plymouth Select Superwash Worsted that is fairly new and very fab. It's very tightly plied and springy. I bought it for heavy socks for DeuceDad but then I remembered some extra-nice sock yarn I just bought for him... decisions decisions.

Okay, this loud mess is going to become 2 Summerlin's for my friends twin baby girls. I'm going to do a 3-6 month size so they'll be small. I loved the vibrant things some Ravelry users had done, so this is *L*oud.

And this, is mittens in the making. It's Dream in Color Classy (yes, cheesiest yarn name ever) in Ruby River. Love. They will coordinate with my fav cowl from Carly last year, and it's just a great big hank of awesome.

And I know DeuceDad got me too many presents, AND I'm going to see the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra's Holiday Pops! What a birthday!

Let's Talk About My Birthday

2009-12-14T10:58:00.002-05:00

This Sunday is my birthday. Most years I have a significant crisis around my birthday regarding my lack of accomplishments in the previous year, or the greatness of the previous year and the bleak outlook for the rest of my life.

Yep, Crazy Town.

DeuceDad is gearing up for a major crisis this year, because I'm turning 29. He is helping by reminding me that 29 is almost halfway to 60. He is a lunatic and driving me to the brink of insanity with his moral support.

That said I am a scant 370 days from turning numbers-that-start-with-3 (after which the apocalypse occurs? I'm not really sure). It's time to move 30 Before 30 to the front burner!

I started my "bucket list"* in March 2008, so going on two years ago, and haven't made a ton of progress. I did reread my posts though, and I'm proud of my perspective. I think the idea of making the most of my 20s is a good one, and I've spent some time acknowledging my accomplishments. I'm not sure I've dreamed a lot of big dreams either, but instead identified some things that I want to do to consider my life whole and successful.

Of course, this is my personal definition. There are definitely some short putts on there (flying a kite? Seriously, never done it before this year). But they are things that I think will be fulfilling to me.

Something I would like to do is to identify some kind of must-do thing to kick off my 30s. I'm certainly open to suggestions, and luckily I have over a year to think about it!

So head over and check it out. I'll be updating and posting there as the year goes on.

* Please note: I do not intend to kick the bucket at 30

A Saturday 5

2009-12-12T15:38:00.005-05:00

I follow this really cool blog called 5 Things, and it really is fun to read all random 5-item lists.

It also inspires me to have a cohesive thought for once.

So here's 5 for a Saturday - 5 ways not to waste my Saturday

1. Get up early

I love sleeping. More than any other activity, bar none. That said, I can get so much done in those first couple of hours.

2. Do something with the family

Today's pick was breakfast with Santa!

3. Have a treat

Luckily the house is ridiculously stocked with Christmas cookies!

4. Spend some time by myself

Still on October issue of Creating Keepsakes and haven't run out of inspiration yet!

5. Keep the evening free

There's no hard and fast rule that I always want to go out on Saturday night. Friday night - I always want to go out. But Saturday, I like to not make any plans and go where the night takes us. Maybe making cookies, maybe Christmas shopping, maybe rent a movie, who knows!

Updates and thanks Jen!

2009-12-09T14:41:00.003-05:00

I have Jen from Our Journey to thank for the cute blog facelift - she showed me The Cutest Blog on the Block, and their designs are super cute!

Also, I wanted to quickly follow up on the car seat search:

We bought the Graco Nautilus, in Wilkes - tres chic for the truck!

I have to say that I like this seat a lot more than the Britax Marathon. It's more 30-month friendly - it sits up straighter (although it can recline), has arm rests and a cup holder, and the straps extremely easy to adjust. Specifically, the buckle that the two arm straps goes into is better. Each side clicks in separately - on the Marathon you have to get both buckle pieces in before it will click, which has caused problems for us.

Picture of the dudes in the truck forthcoming...

So much other news, but break time's over! Mommy's on the clock!

The pre-Christmas toy purge

2009-12-05T08:23:00.003-05:00

I'm just picking up where I left off... hope you don't mind :D

There comes a time in the life of every mom when she wants to start shouting "ENOUGH WITH THE TOYS ALREADY" and bulldozer everything into a dumpster. I've been fighting this urge a number of ways.

First I removed all the toys from the living room. There can be toys in Deuce's room, and toys in the family room, bu toy storage in the living room too was just pushing it a little. That really helped because at least I can open the front door without kicking Mr. Potato Head aside.

Then I was rotating the toys, half in the basement, half in the family room at about 2 week intervals. That lasted about 1 rotation before Deuce figured me out and would just come downstairs and get what he wanted, tossing everything else over his shoulder throughout the basement.

Over the summer I set up some baskets and boxes with pictures on them to help Deuce sort his toys - trucks, music, play food, blocks... and I got to thinking about when I bought this one enormous basket we have and I thought (so sweetly naive) "I'll keep all Deuce's toys in here." Ha. We're up to 3 baskets, a toy shopping cart, the blocks wagon and 3 diaper boxes. And then there are the free standing toys.

While packing for our Thanksgiving trip to the ILs, I approached the toy pile to choose some things to take with us. I vetoed anything with 100 small parts immediately (toy food, megablocks, Potato Head), grabbed some books and art stuff, and then... what does Deuce play with? Some trucks. Um... Yeah. That's about it. He's outgrown most everything he has. He uses the toys still, mostly to cram the parts into other toys, or throw things into boxes like free throw practice.

I spent some time this morning boxing things up and putting them away. I doubt he'll miss any of it. But putting away the stacking rings and the linkados I feel like I'm packing up his toddlerhood. For Christmas he's getting a train set (the brio one, not even the Geotrax), art stuff, sports stuff, games... not so much primary colored plastic as in past years.

I hear him moving upstairs, time to get him up. Let's see if he notices half his toys are gone!

Where I'll be for the next 2 months

2009-11-16T08:12:00.002-05:00

In front of the television, furiously knitting gifts and watching CHRISTMAS SHOWS!

This year I'm embracing Christmas before Thanksgiving. Reason number one is that I don't want to do the crazy gift buying insanity that I usually do.

Reason number two is that I always miss my favorite cheesy Christmas specials because they're on so early. Not this year - I found this list of all the shows, dates and channels!

I actually printing that thing out and have it upstairs so I can set the DVR every week.

What's this gift knitting I speak of? Well there's the sweater for my mom that I've been procrastinating on. It would be a nice gift, packaged with a camisole... I already spent a bunch of money on the yarn so that would ease some yarn buying guilt too. My dad wants socks (not at all sure I can knit mens size 12s in 5 weeks... boo. I also have pet presents to finish up. I'll have a couple of opportunities to knit for 3 hours straight on car rides, so that should help.

Oh and being glued to the TV.

T is for Tink which is knit spelled backwards

2009-10-31T16:20:00.003-04:00

I've been doing some tinkering around on the celebratory socks. Several of the patterns I have picked out have been regretably small for my feet/calves. Regretably. After a gauge swatch, one cast on and several printed out patterns, I think I'm going to check Ann Budd's Getting Started Knitting Socks back out of the library. I checked this out and scanned it when I started learning to knit and if I remember what I read, she tells how to take measurements and adjust the pattern to fit. The funny thing is that I will probably still have these socks cast on before I have a start date...

Okay and since this is a photo challenge, here's a pic of my sweater and bootie gift set recipient modelling the goods!

S is for Special

2009-10-29T13:49:00.002-04:00

Malabrigo Sock in Archangel, being wound for my congratulatory job socks.

R is for Retrospective

2009-10-20T19:18:00.004-04:00

This is off my theme of being fiber-related, but on my theme for catching up!

One year ago today, I lost my job, for the second time in a year. I lost a big part of my identity that day, as a working mom, a software engineer, a career woman. Day after day, Deuce reminded me that the biggest, happiest, most rewarding part of my life is motherhood.

Today, we did the same things we were doing this time last year - children's museum, playground, playing in the leaves. We hugged and high-fived. I marveled at his intelligence, cuteness, constant motion... that he was part of me, that I am part of him, that he loves me despite my failure to hold down a job, despite the anxiety, despite the disappointment.

DeuceDad was there too, supporting me and teasing me through the best and worst moments of the last year, always reminding me that we have a happy marriage and a beautiful son.

I feel such a sense of relief knowing that many of our troubles will be behind us in a few weeks. Soon I'll be busy 9-5 and bringing home the bacon again, questioning my decision to work outside the home, ordering pizza and getting up early again. I need to remember the gifts - the last year I've had to share Deuce's every moment, the fact that I have him and his loving father, this job that could be everything I've been looking for. These are all gifts in my life. I can't be a SAHM and a WOHM at the same time, but I've had the opportunity to do both, and I've enjoyed it.

In retrospect, this year has been the best I've ever had. I was able to do something I never thought I could do, and I'm stronger and better for it. But I'm ready for my next move, knowing I'll have amazing people by my side.

Car Seat Shopping, and oh by the way I got my job

2009-10-17T14:43:00.004-04:00

Let me start off by saying I GOT THE JOB!!!! I'm really ecstatic - and totally in planning mode.

Among the things on my list to prepare for my return to work is get a second car seat. We've always just had one, but DeuceDad and I are going to stagger our schedules so Deuce's day at daycare is shorter than a full work day, so that means two seats.

I did a lot of research when buying Deuce's infant seat, and settled on a Graco Snugride, even after reading the flawed side-impact crash testing results. His model isn't produced anymore, and we don't have his anymore because it was in an car accident.

As an aside, it is very important to destroy an car seat after a "moderate or severe crash", because its strength may have been compromised. The seat should be destroyed by cutting all the straps, making it unusable. In our case, our insurance company reimbursed the cost of the seat, and needed a photograph of the cut straps as proof that the seat would not be reused.

After the accident, we bought a Britax Marathon based on word of mouth recommendations. We have been very happy with the seat as far as comfort and ease of use. It actually is rated at 3 of 5 stars on the NHTSA ratings (see links below), which I was shocked to read because we really like it.

This time around, I would like to pay a little less if possible, and I need to know if there is another level of seat that we will be able to use longer than the Marathon as he grows.

My search for child seat safety laws didn't yield anything particularly helpful - I tend to err on the side of caution and the laws are a bare minimum. I decided I would use the 2009 Child Safety Seat Ease of Use Ratings, published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, to get a list of possibilities for comparison.

I scanned down the list for seats with 5-point harnesses, a weight range that included Deuce's current weight, and went up to 65lbs or above (so at least as much as the Marathon), and earned at least 4 stars in the NHTSA rating in both forward-facing, and booster set-ups if applicable.

Here's my list and how I narrowed it down further:

Cosco Traveler
I could only find this for sale online, and I want to be able to try installing it in the truck before we buy, so this is off my list.

Eddie Bauer Deluxe 3-in-1
Toys R Us $190 This looks really comfy and has a cupholder which is cute to me. This is staying on the list, but we'd need to put it in the truck to see if it fits.

Graco Nautilus
Toys R Us $180 Goes from carseat to high back booster to seatbelt positioning booster and weight up to 100 lbs. This is the highest weight rating in this price range, so to me that's a good value

Jane Indy Plus
Found online only. Again, want to be able to test it out.

The First Years True Fit
Target $180/Toys R Us $190 The manufacturer's website description doesn't have an option to compare to the next model up. I guess this doesn't have the uber-safety bar that the premiere has. It's also $100 less.

The First Years True Fit Premiere (The only seat rated 5)
Amazon $265 Pricey, but top rated. I struggle to justify spending less on safety, but... I just don't think this is reasonable for us right now. (Yes, these words coming from the mouth of a Britax owner. How times have changed.)

Based on this, we have 3 models to test out - The EB, the Graco and the less expensive First Years. The deciding factors will be (in order)

does it fit in the truck
how comfortable is Deuce in it
how easily do the straps adjust (primarily tightening the harness, but also adjusting the height)
how easy is it to install/remove
how to remove the cover for laundering

Stay tuned for part 2 when we have a winner!

In other news...

2009-10-15T13:12:00.002-04:00

I have a second interview for a job today. In 1 hour and 48 minutes to be exact. I am so nervous, but going for "cool, calm and collected" on the exterior.

I am just dying to talk about this job and the possibility that it requires a - dare I say it - move (eek!), but I'm trying not to think about any of the implications besides what is required of me today, which is showing up, looking professional, acting confident...

... and describing what I'm looking for in a job so that they can make sure they're placing the right candidate in the right position.

I'll tell you what I'm looking for. A PAYCHECK!

Not to put too fine of a point on it.

11 months ago I was all about finding the perfect job for me, a career position that would give me all the challenges I need to keep my interest with all the responsibilities that I'm good at, great benefits and work life balance.

This job has both. This job is what I've been looking for all year long, and it's so close. I got very encouraging feedback from one of the interviewers who seems to be the main decision maker, and obviously I was selected for a second interview - third if you count the phone screening. I am as confident as I can be considering I've come this far before and had the job go to someone else, or get closed out due to budget concerns.

I'm putting this out here now, 1 hour and 42 minutes before the interview starts because I'm not sure what I'm going to do if this thing falls through. I mean, I know what I'll do. Come home, make dinner, keep applying to jobs, eventually find something. But this! This is the one! And I think if it doesn't come to fruition I'm going to need to vent a little bit.

I have done all my preparations, and it's time to get dressed. I'm ready to make this happen.

Q is for Quantity

2009-10-14T09:53:00.001-04:00

My stash contains vast quantities of kitchen cotton, including, but not limited to, this huge skeins of Sugar 'n Cream!
I mean, I like knitted dishcloths, but this is ridiculous.

P is for Photos

2009-10-13T09:23:00.002-04:00

I love looking at Ravelry user's FO photos, but I'm not great at posting photos of my own projects. I really like an action shot, and I guess I just rarely remember to do it. So after finishing the Econo-Shopper bag about 2 years ago, I finally snapped a pic of it!

It came out with very long handles, that stretched slightly after putting items in the bag. Initially I planned to make another one with shorter handles, but that just never came to be. I did try machine washing and drying it (it's 100% cotton), which cleaned it up nicely but didn't really shrink the handles.

But then I found that the design is good for something after all - hooking over the stroller handle! Word to the wise - don't put a watermelon and a winter squash in there with it on the stroller. Turns out you can tip your stroller, even with your solidly built 2 year old in it. Darn physics. I was right there though, so no 2 year olds were harmed.

Anyhow, this is just a cell phone picture, but it's a picture, and definitely something I need to work on doing more of!

O is for Old Yarn

2009-10-12T08:55:00.002-04:00

"Old yarn" is kind of pushing it, but I need to get caught up, so I'm using it.

I bought this Noro Kureyon over a year ago. I bought 3 skeins online and was so excited to use it for some kind of a project that would really show off the color changes. I first crocheted it into a Rook Hat. Mine was a bust. I tried the scarf too, but I was kind of sick of it, so I ripped the whole thing out.

The yarn just sat in myself for a year and then finally I decided to just make a pattern that over 9000 others have made - Calorimetry! Finally got to use up some old yarn!

Please excuse this shot of my second chin...

I actually knit this on sz 5s because a lot of people commented that it came out wider than they thought it would. Even on the smaller needles it came out really wide, wider than it seems to look on the pattern model. Oh well, it's warm and I think it was a good use for some old yarn.

Sunday Scrappin'

2009-10-11T17:14:00.003-04:00

It's been slow going, but all my getting ready to scrap this fall preparation is finally paying off! I have had my 4th of July pictures printed for a month, and the page layout drawn and journaling written for 2 weeks, and today I finally did the deed!

The background is plain cardstock with the swirls stenciled on. The 4 is chipboard I covered in paper. I think it moves pretty well visually considering there are a lot of pictures on there. I do see one blank spot that I have just the perfect embellishment for... maybe the cat's sleeping on it.

I also finished a layout I’ve been working on for literally weeks. It came together over about 2 weeks of just leaving it out on my table and sketching out different stuff. It was near done, but I wanted one last thing – an admission sticker from the children’s museum. I know we’ve had dozens of them, I just didn’t happen to have one on hand. Deuce often takes them off and sticks them different places or crumples them, but I finally managed to grab one in decent condition.

Phew, now I finally have "Eight days a week" out of my head!

What I hate about Sundays

2009-10-04T16:19:00.003-04:00

There was this country song that was popular some years back "What I Love About Sundays." Sundays are very lovely for some, I'm sure, but I hate them.

This morning I woke up early (blah) to my messy house (who cleans on Saturday night?) needing to let the dog out (DeuceDad out of town), then wrangle crabby toddler into dry diaper (dog barking to be let in) while hopping around with legs crossed (peepee dance) until I get a chance to relieve myself (easier to suffer than clean up everyone else's puddles).

The middle part of the day was fine - church, fire department open house, where Deuce sat in each of 6 emergency vehicles twice, lunch. Then Deuce wouldn't nap, but I think we've covered that here. I decided he needed quiet time, at which point he destroyed his bedroom. So we picked that up, and now he's watching 1 hour of TV while I rot my brain on the internet instead of doing anything productive.

But now, it's Sunday night. There's no where to go, I don't want to cook, and definitely don't want to make any messes. Deuce won't nap or watch football, I don't have anything great OTN. I could scrap, but there's a pile of filing on my table... who files on Sunday night?

Every Sunday night is like this. If it's not just me here being bored, then its DeuceDad and I each bored and trying to pawn Deuce off on the other one (an adult can only play play-doh for just so long).

I've tried making social plans for Sunday nights, but the rest of the world "values" their "family time" and "likes" to spend a "quiet evening" "together". (air quote that!)

I think we'll wander Super Target and get Chinese takeout. Those places don't care that it's Sunday. Then I can make a scrapbook page about Play-doh with authentic fingerprints on it. Win-win.

Follow up phone call - Check!

2009-10-02T14:32:00.003-04:00

Waiting to hear back on this most recent job lead is getting tough. According to the interviewers, they were hoping to finish first interviews this week and contact people next week about second interviews, if not their decision.

I decided Monday that I should contact them again, as I was one of the first interviews.

On Tuesday I tried to write an email but deleted it.

On Wednesday, my mother (an HR Director) suggested a quick phone call.

On Thursday Robbie didn't nap, and I had decided I would make this call during his nap.

It is now Friday at 2:30 and I just made this phone call. I got voice mail. I left a message.

Done.

I have so much anxiety over this job it's not even funny. I WANT it. I'm trying very hard not to WANT it or THINK about it because if I don't get it I am going to have to MOVE ON. And I will. We've made this work for a year, there's no reason to panic. But I LIKE this job. I like the project. I like the people. I like the location. I like the benefits. I don't know about the pay, but the vacation... government employee vacation is scandelous compared to the private sector.

DeuceDad and I have held our heads high and weathered going on a year of my unemployment. And we've had some storms during that time. We haven't suffered any catastrophies, but we haven't caught any breaks. I need this break. We need this break.

It's pouring rain outside, and that's how I feel - like I'm stuck outside in the cold and pouring rain. It won't hurt me, but I can't stand it forever.

Taking my mojo outside

2009-09-30T13:52:00.002-04:00

After the rain and high winds we had in our area over the last several days, my yard needed some attention. I'm kind of into the barely-kempt au natural look for my yard, but the amount of sticks and toys were kind of pushing it.

Last fall I wasn't able to get all the leaves cleaned up before the snow fell. This was partly due to my sciatic nerve problem flaring up (twisting and raking will do that), and party due to Deuce constantly wandering off into whatever part of the yard/neighborhood I wasn't working in.

The result of having a carpet of leaves until the ground dried out in spring is that we set ourselves back significantly in our quest to grow grass. A couple of areas where real piles had sat were totally dead. We made a lot of progress on the lawn, so this fall I'm starting early and trying to keep ahead of the work.

This year I also have the fence on my side, plus Deuce and I spent the whole summer gardening so he knows we can make a game of working outside together. The back pain - well, that's just a fact of my life until I get my bionic spine implant.

The beech tree has already lost half it's leaves, and Deuce and I managed to get all those leaves raked, plus the sticks and branches that fell from the wind. Just to put my finishing touch , I'm going to air the dog bed on the clothes line. Who needs picturesque - we're going for "lived in."

That New Stuff State of Mind

2009-09-25T13:32:00.003-04:00

In the year that I have been out of work and home with Deuce, our fixer-upper house has gone unfixed, for the most part. With the notable exceptions of the fence and the guest room (the latter of which I did for under $50), DeuceDad and I put our home improvement plans on hold.

There are things around the house the DeuceDad and I each can't stand, but we're living with it in the name of financial responsibility. DeuceDad hates out kitchen with the fire of 1,000 suns. The carpet and wall colors in the office sap all my creative energy.

What I really can't stand isn't the lack of floor molding - it's the broken things. The fridge door doesn't stay closed. I broke the handle off my washer. One of the burners on the stove doesn't light. I was plotting a coup in which I order new appliances and deal with the payments later (somehow). But then my cell phone broke, which actually changed things for the better.

I knew I couldn't call customer service and act like a reasonable human being. DeuceDad generously offered to call AT&T and try to get a replacement - and he succeeded! No yelling required! New phone was set to arrive on Friday, and life would be restored to normal. It was almost too easy.

Wednesday was a little hectic, and when I came home to some destruction in the garage from the dog I decided I needed to tackle some of the things that had been driving me nuts.

I ordered a new knob for my washer. I rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned the filthy carpet in the family room and our dog-smelling couches. I cleaned some kind of sediment off the innards of the stove burner so the igniter works. My cell phone arrived and I synced it - although I need to reenter all my contacts (argh). In the period of a few hours I resolved a lot of things that had been bothering me without spending much money.

The temptation to get new stuff was so great - I like to have nice things as much as the next person. But a little research and elbow grease did the trick for now, and I'm really proud of what I was able to do.

I used:
Taylor Rental
Sears Parts Direct
Palm Support
Yahoo Answers
And my own two hands!

Running Vicariously

2009-09-20T09:16:00.004-04:00

Last weekend I stood near the finish line cheering on my best friend as she crossed the finish line on her first 5K. I had the camera, and Deuce and I had maracas and we cheered our hearts out for her as she came in just under 30 minutes, her goal time.

That should have been me. I should have been out there with her, panting, sweating and victorious.

The frustrating part is that this time I actually intended to do it, and I tried until I just couldn't take the pain from the heel spur/plantar faciitis any more. I freely admit that in the past I quit. I quit exercising as soon as it got hard, or I got bored, or had something better to do, or wanted to sleep in. But this one time, when I was really committed, something took me out of the game before I was really in it.

But you know what? That wasn't me. It was her, and she worked her butt off to accomplish this. And I was so happy and proud when she crossed that finish line. I had G2 and nutrigrain bars packed, took pictures of her and her running partner, and gave her all the sweaty hugs that I know she needed after putting her all into something.

I felt so much excitement and pride at her accomplishment that I forgot all about the fact that I was on the sidelines. Her happiness adds to my life and does not diminish it.

That's the thing about having a 14-year friendship with someone - you share their joy and pain. In this case I had only the joy and none of the sore muscles, so it really worked out for everyone.

Next year, maybe next year that will be me. Until that time comes though, I will keep cheering for my friend, keep healing, keep dreaming.

And the award for best blog title goes to...

2009-09-19T21:10:00.002-04:00

Where Am I Going and Why Am I In This Handbasket?

A question I ask myself conservatively 58 times/day. MamaTulip is a really funny lady. I had bookmarked her, but she didn't make it into my feedreader for some reason, blah blah, check her out though, it's good stuff.

Cutting up a whole chicken: file under "not worth it"

2009-09-17T15:10:00.003-04:00

In my ongoing efforts to save money*, I bought a whole chicken to cut up at home. The intention being that I would get the chicken pieces I wanted, plus extra meat and the bones to make chicken soup with, and pay LOW LOW PRICES! I saved $0.50 per pound, which on a 7 lb chicken, added up to a $3.50 SAVINGS!

I have cut up cooked whole chickens before, so I applied the same principles. Cut through the meat to the joints, knife into the joint, crack. Remove the extremities, then separate breasts along breast bone. Okay, now imagine cutting up that lovely smelling hot roast chicken if it was ice cold and slimy. Not cool, dudes! That 7 lb bastard slid thisaway and thataway all over my counter until I had successfully butchered it, and not myself. Mission accomplished.

Over my ziplock bag of broth fixin's and bowl of parts soaking in buttermilk, I considered whether it was worth it. My verdict is no. You can't put a pricetag on having someone else pull the kidneys (testicles? spleen?) out of a raw chicken for you.

Next time at the grocery store I will gladly pay more for cut up chicken.

*by save money I mean pay less for essentials so I can still do stuff like have my cell phone and buy craft supplies.

Napping

2009-09-08T14:39:00.002-04:00

You can shut a toddler is his room, but you can't make him nap.

I heard footsteps upstairs a few minutes after I put Deuce down for his nap, and this is what I opened the door to.
This is no surprise. A couple of times a week, Deuce refused to nap despite all my best efforts. And I think it's okay for 2's and 3's to just rest in the afternoon for a while even if they don't sleep. But as you can see by the state of his room, no resting was going on.

I have a haircut tonight, so DeuceDad's going to have fu-un with him tonight.

uggggggggggggggggggggh

2009-09-05T18:34:00.003-04:00

I. feel. horrible.

Next time I want to eat all my meals 'on the run' remind me that I have a weak stomach. Please.

Today I injested two cups of coffee, a bacon egg and cheese biscuit, hash brown and iced coffee from McHell, followed by a large cone of cinnamon almonds and a diet coke from a fair. To top it off? Baked chocolate chip cookies. And ate some batter.

Pass the pepto, dudes.

I can't believe Deuce is still standing. He ate almost a whole bag of cheddar goldfish, some apple juice and grapes for the whole day. I guess one day of him not getting his 5 fruits and veggies won't kill him, but I'm a goner.

1, 2, 3... Scrap!

2009-08-24T21:05:00.003-04:00

Labor Day is just around the corner. That means fall, cooler weather, and scrapbooking! To be fair, just about everything means scrapbooking to me, but I mean organized scrapbooking with other people. Here is my plan for productive scrapping:

Pictures! I typically work photos-first or story-first, but to me scrapbooks ain't nothin' without the pics. So it's time to get organized. First, I'm going to move the unscrapped photos from Deuce's first year and sort them into my file box. I'm satisfied that I've scrapped every event from the chronological collection, and I also want to free up the binder they're in. Then I'm going to upload and order all the event photos from last year that got lost in the mix, including those from Facebook, other people's cameras, and cell phone pics (cell pics I might just print at home). I put those into my 3-up photo binders. Any Simple Scrapbookers or Stacy Julian fans will recognize this as a loose interpretation of Stacy's Library of Memories (I have her book Photo Freedom and lurve it).

Stuff! I also love to keep the scrap in scrapbooking, but I tend to lose the scraps along the way... I found a nice box to keep scraps in, so I need to move some things from the junk pile on the desk to there. That box can also serve as inspiration when I'm in need.

Projects! Some scraps are for specific albums, for example, our California trip/BIL & SIL's wedding, and my garden notebook. I have file pockets with little tags to collect scraps, photos, layout ideas, paper, journaling and embellishments together until I get everything I want (and time to work). I need to look through my product to see if I have all I need to complete a project or should be looking for something specific.

Products! I feel pretty confident that I have most of the products I need to make the pages I want to make. But I might take some time to reset some of my organization from winter.

Ideas! My idea book has paper with sketches messily tossed in it (like, not even clipped into the binder), so I need to sort that out some. I would also like to sketch some of my fav pages to try and use some of my designs again.

Stories! My journalling books are all missing. I'm sure they're around here somewhere... the idea to keep journalling notebooks around at all times to capture thoughts an moments has not worked for me since about a year ago when implemented. Need to research online for a better solution.

Computer! I need to pick either Windows Photo Gallery or Picasa to store and tag my pictures because I'm lost. I know I organized some things in one place and other things elsewhere. I definitely like Picasa for editing, but I think I'm staying w/ Photo Gallery. I like their tags better. That said, I need to back this shiznit up. I'm screwed if this computer goes up in flames.

Destash! I'm hosting a swap in 2 weeks, so I need to go through my piles to see what I can swap with other people. I have a stack of swap stuff from when I cleaned the office - 8 months ago!! It's time to get rid of it.

In the meantime, I'm scraplifting this. No sense doing all this organization for nothing!

We return, broken, dirty and damp

2009-08-23T16:26:00.004-04:00

We spent the last 5 days visiting with old friends upstate where we used to live, visiting with my in-laws, and enjoying a festival that DeuceDad has participated his entire life.

Let's rehash the good before delving in to the aftermath. Deuce was so well behaved, I'm very proud of him. Our first stop was at the home of friends with a 7 week old baby. Deuce wasn't jealous at all when I held her and managed to leave their dog and 2 cats alone enough at least to not make anyone hiss or growl. Way to respect other peoples' homes! We had dinner, wine the husband makes, and rootbeer floats, and compare some of those early parenthood moments. (i.e. "Is he/she ever going to stop crying" and "I have the feeling back in my nether regions"). They love to watch Deuce run around and imagine themselves 2 years into the future!

Then the drive to the ILs, and the moment I walked in the door another BFF called and told me her baby she's pregnant with has Downs syndrome and 2 other health problems that have been identified. I spend the next 2 hours crying on the phone with her, then an hour crying while DeuceDad and I discussed (again) what we though we might feel in that situation. It's tough to know what to do as a friend (call, don't call...) but I'm going to keep calling her until she tells me to quit. Let me tell you I held Deuce tight as I could and thanked God for the gift of him.

After a crappy night's sleep, we headed to "the city" for an ill advised shopping trip. I needed one thing, but couldn't find it at the local WalMart. So I though I had to drive almost an hour to "the city." Turns out, I could have gotten this item at the Farmer's Coop. I though that was where you bought chicken feed or something, but I guess it's a real store. Live and learn.

Next day it was off for a friend's house. We wanted to go to the beach, but it was raining. She suggested we take the kids to a McDonald's PlayPlace. I had never been to one, but I was really concerned for her sanity when she said that. I respect this woman, but... really? It actually was nice. It was newly built, and was mostly a huge padded climber with a slide. The boys had a great time and we got to relax and chat. I knew she was a smart cookie!

Another day, another drive, this time to the Thousand Islands area. We sat around at our friends' boating club and watched their 3 year old and Deuce play in the sand and the water. Deuce has really picked up on how to play with other children, and I love watching it. We talked, gossiped and laughed, and had a great morning. I got to watch their 2 girls for a few minutes while they left for a wedding and their babysitter was on her way over. I never plan to have a 3YO, 2YO and 7MO at the same time - they were well behaved, but I needed to be in 2 places at once for sure.

Today we watched DeuceDad and Grandpa do their lumberjack show (sooo fun - I'll take some video next time I'm at one), ate some fair food, and jumped in the car.

After all that, I, my dog, and my possessions are the worse for wear. Deuce and DeuceDad are tired, but not visibly damaged in any way. Everything is covered in sand, horse stall funk and dampness from the humidity, and I am tired, bug bitten, pinched and sick to death of being in the car. I drove our family car a minimum of 3 hours every day, much of it on the same stretch of country road, avoiding construction and the Amish and trying to make up time.

In the mean time, 3 of the measly 4 bras I own gave up the ghost and now have wires sticking out of them, stabbing or poking me in the side. What's up with that? They get a lot of use because they each get worn twice a week (more of less, don't nitpick the math), but why did they all have to go at the same time? The one I was wearing today literally snapped in half on one side and pinched me all the way home. I probably could have pulled over on the interstate and removed it, but one more instant in the car and I would have keeled over.

I'm in recovery mode. The car is sort of unpacked, except for the floor in the backseat, which has apple juice spilled all over it and I need to psych myself up for tackling that mess. The dog bed and dog himself are washed and drying. MIL does most of the wash, so that's no sweat, but the 2 giant duffles are going to take a few minutes. And I should consider what I'm feeding my son tonight. The time is fast approaching and I'm NOT going to the grocery store. Hopefully we have cereal.

Oh, and I have no pictures because I forgot the camera. I took a couple with MIL's camera, but didn't upload anything.

So my souveniers consist of my own crap, but dirtier. And memories made with good friends.

Love is...

2009-08-15T10:45:00.001-04:00

... picking a flower from the yard and offering it to your mommy.

N is for New hobby

2009-08-06T17:49:00.002-04:00

I just can't get enough knitting. I'm doing mostly small projects because there are lots of pregnant ladies in my life! This is the umbilical cord hat from Stitch 'n Bitch...

This is a little hat pattern that I found on Ravelry. I plan to make a larger one for Deuce because I like the alternating cables and ribs. He's clearly larger than the infant size modeled here...

I haven't really had the urge to crochet anything lately, although I have a pattern and yarn waiting in the wings for something for me. Just the excitement of something new I guess!

big boy bed

2009-07-28T08:35:00.002-04:00

The first night in the toddler bed, or "big boy bed" as we've been calling it, was a huge success! Deuce is still sleeping now! I wasn't actually home to put him down for the night in it, but I'm so proud of him, and very saddened that he's growing up so quickly.

I squirreled away the checks he got for his birthday, and I'm going to Target today to get the Cars "Cruisin' in Style" bed set. I really pushed for the much cuter transportation themed one, but it's his bed and I let him pick. Very opinionated.

I'm surprised how easy the transition was because we didn't actually do anything to prepare him. We talked about it, and then we took off the crib side and put on the side rail and just let him get in and out... if only potty training could be that easy.

File under Fun

2009-07-21T08:04:00.002-04:00

Our day at Seabreeze was great!
I don't have a lot of tips to share, just pictures of Deuce!

Deuce went on his first solo amusement park ride. I was horribly nervous, but there were lots of other somewhat respectable looking adults putting their beloved children on the rides, and there were no chaulk outlines on the surrounding area, so... on he went!

He drove a T-bird (this is the beginning of the ride, so he looks a little nervous)

after the first loop he has his groove

These boats were adorable until the ride stopped and he stood up and tried to get off by himself - on the water side! No harm done.

He went on twice

And this is a tiny little roller coaster. I'm glad he went on with this slightly older little girl, because as soon as she started laughing, the worried look left his face and he laughed hysterically at her.

We also enjoyed the carousel and DeuceDad's company picnic before we went over the water rides. We had carried our two bags through the park but we did finally get the lockers when we went into the water park. They are tiny, but reasonably priced.

I have to compliment the changing/restroom facilities. I usually HATE public restrooms and I remember the changing areas smelling like someone had peed in the curtained spots. But this was really clean. It's airy, spacious bright, with no dripping water or mystery puddles.

We took Deuce to the kids spray area and found 3 little waterslides. They're the size of playground slides but with water running down them. They were a huge hit - Deuce did one of the slides literally dozens of times. That gave us a chance to trade off and do a big people waterslide. So fun! I would have loved to have a waterproof camera for the afternoon.

Then we went on the Lazy River, where you float around this loop - it was so relaxing and Deuce did a good job staying on my lab on my tube. There are waterfalls, and I did my best to keep us out of them, but we went under one and Deuce cried hysterically! Poor man!

Then we changed up, enjoyed some fried dough and the train, and took Deuce home for a long overdue nap.

My concerns over our baggage ended up being no problem at all. It's such a small park that you can lock up your stuff and go back to it over the course of the day without really trekking all over.

The diaper question wasn't answered until we got into the kids area itself. The sign said to use a swim diaper covered with rubber pants (available for purchase). We let Deuce go au natural. I'm sure I would have freaked about that in pre-parenting days, but judging by the look of the bottoms of the other children, he wasn't the only one without protection. Plus the possibility (likelyhood?) of adults peeing in the adult rides grosses me out way more than some baby pee.

So that was our day - it was a lot of fun, very relaxing and we're hoping to go back!

Amusement Park Prep

2009-07-19T10:04:00.004-04:00

Today is DeuceDad's company picnic at Seabreeze! Seabreeze is a small local amusement park, and it's lots of fun. It's definitely wimpy compared to Six Flags or Busch Gardens, but it's close and inexpensive and fun.

I have a few things I'm not sure about, so tomorrow I'll hopefully have some 'how to survive an amusement park with a 2 year old in diapers' tips. My main concerns are my camera (would LOVE to bring the big boy but afraid it will get wet or stolen), and the water slides (are swim diapers allowed? are we going to get E coli?). We brought Deuce last year, but didn't do the water park, and someone stood with the stroller the whole time.

I did get some tips from a local moms website, RocMoms.com. I'm sure every area has something similar, and it's a great resource for local info from a parent's perspective. I found RocMoms from the newspaper's website, so look around.

I'm off to pack a bag - wish us luck!

2009-07-15T13:46:00.002-04:00

Since I've been out of work, I'm trying to spend more carefully. I'm doing my best to live by the motto

Use it up,
wear it out,
make it do
or do without.

I am doing a pretty good job going from a person who, within reason, buys what I want when I want it, to a budget-conscious if not frugal shopper.

Some of my successes are the outdoor plants that I got from the clearance section of the garden store. $74 of plants bought for $28 because they came without guarantees. I guess the discounts only get better as the season goes on and stores don't want to winter plants over.

And how about face products - I haven't bought face wash or lotion in 3 years! Yes, that's before Deuce was born. I used to sell Mary Kay, so I did have a stock pile. But I'm also using up a lot of tinted moisturizers and other things that I buy new seasonally. I have thrown a lot of things away that have turned, particularly Clinique things that I have had since before I started selling Mary Kay. But at $20 or $25 a pop, every time I find a tube of something I feel like there's money in my pocket.

Of course it just wouldn't be me if I didn't have some failures too. For one, there's the bed frame I bought off craigslist that didn't even attach to the bed properly (thankfully that has been resold). The Rubbermaid paintbrush I got a "great deal" on because it was $4 instead of $12 that I usually spend on a Purdy brush. (It leaves crazy streaks). Or the potty chair I bought without doing any research. Deuce isn't tall enough to sit in the middle of the seat - it's made for giants (luckily found that out before Deuce really used it and was able to return).

Sometimes researching items doesn't really help though. Of all the potty chairs on Amazon, not one has 5 stars, and it seems like boys can manage to pee on everything regardless of the size and shape of the "splash guard".

All in all I must be doing okay, because we're staying afloat. More than afloat, we have everything we need and we're paying less for it!

M is for My other hobbies

2009-07-07T21:11:00.002-04:00

I crochet (or knit, now) almost every day, late at night when we're unwinding in front of the TV. But fiber stuff isn't my first or only hobby.

My first hobby is baking. This is Deuce's birthday cake. It's two layers of chocolate cake with white frosting and decorated with mini, plain and peanut butter M&Ms. I got the idea from Parents magazine. It took just as much time to decorate as it did to bake and frost!

I got my love of baking from my dear Grandma Anne. She has "got it." She times cookies by when they smell done. She measures with a scoop. Like, not a measuring cup. She just knows how to bake, and though I'm not as skilled as her, I do love it.

My favorite hobby is scrapbooking. I started scrapbooking before I was married, just to spend time with friends and because I thought it was fun. Now that Deuce is on the scene, I do a LOT of scrapbooking.

This is his second year, what I was able to finish before his party:

(that's an American Crafts D-ring binder, which I love for any project that isn't ever really "done")

Scrapbooking is the way I record my feelings and emotions, express my love for my family, create something I can share, exercise my mind... and let's face it, it's how I spend a lot of money. DeuceDad actually doesn't mind though because I've had this hobby for about 5 years now, longer than I've ever held down a single job, so it's not a waste.

I am so fortunate for all the nap-time I spend on these hobbies. So when I'm not blogging, you know what I'm doing!

I don't even know where to start.

2009-07-06T21:16:00.004-04:00

I haven't blogged in a while - I've been home, away, busy, sleepy, up, down and around pretty much non-stop. (And I used to work, too?)

Some of the highlights since June 23...

Camping!

We went to Green Lakes and camped with friends. We have camped with this group a few times, and have always enjoyed ourselves. We were really looking forward to it, until a huge thunderstorm rolled overhead as we were packing the car. We actually got the car totally unpacked and called everyone to confer... only for the sky to clear and the weather to be gorgeous. We repacked the car (minus a few essentials forgotten in the fray) and off we went.

It's a really nice park - actually a national forest, I think - with a beautiful beach for swimming and lots of trails. Our sites were in a great location, and the weather held out. A great trip!

July 4th!

We celebrated the all-American way. We over ate and watched baseball.

"Dipfest" started as a discussion over what the best kind of taco dip is.

It turned into an allout gorge-fest that the hostess is not entirely recovered from. Digestively speaking. There was no clear winner, but the contestants for taco dip were "Alyson's taco dip" (cream cheese/sour cream/taco seasoning, diced tomatoes, lettuce, cheese), chili cheese dip (cream cheese, chili, cheese), and 7 layer taco dip (cream cheese/sour cream/taco seasoning, refried beans, guacamole, salsa, olives, jalapeno slices, cheese). Also in the photo are chicken wing dip and artichoke dip. I feel sick just thinking about it.

We went to see the Red Wings. We took Deuce last year, but he was mostly interested in popcorn and playing in the grass. This year he was able to follow along a little (here, in the red tshirt, bemoaning a blown call) He was great at the game, and we're looking forward to bringing him again.

Hangin' with my Dad!

My dad had some time off mid-week, so we went to the Strong National Museum of Play together. The working folk don't get to do stay-at-home stuff like story hour, so this was a treat for Dad.

Knitting!

This is the completed "first sock evah!" and the second one has another 2-ish inches of calf and some ribbing left to go.

Amazingly, sock knitting has been my procrastination knitting, used to keep myself from a cable scarf (I think I got the cable thing figured, just trying to finish the yarn), and a sweater (whoa) that is very intimidating.

Not too shabby - hoping to have some fiber stuff to share soon.

Everybody and their momma is doin' it.

2009-06-23T14:21:00.003-04:00

As seen on Ali's blog and Cathy's blog, it's...

TODAY June 23rd, 2009

Outside my window... the sun is shining and the birds are chirping. It is a beautiful day

I am thinking... about gardening instead of mopping

I am thankful for... Deuce's patience today while we ran errands for hours (with a playground/lunch break, so it wasn't all work)

From the kitchen... I packed lunch to eat at the playground (go go prepared mom!), but have yet to decipher dinner. Greek salad?

I am wearing... Birkenstocks. But my feet are pedicure-d so I only look half like a hippy

I am creating... more work for myself by buying more plants

I am going... to my parents' to swim if all goes to plan

I am reading... every sweater knitting book I could get my hands on from the library

I am hoping... to find a sweater pattern

I am hearing... birds chirping, and the non-sound of Deuce napping. Thank God.

Around the house... are two less things to return, two less things to trip over and stress that I don't get anything done.

One of my favorite things... is taking sun dried clothes off the clothesline.

A few plans for the rest of the week... swimming, a reunion, knitting meetup, then camping!

It's tough bein' old

2009-06-17T14:30:00.002-04:00

The scene: Deuce is napping. I am on the couch watching a documentary, drinking diet coke. Windows open, letting in fresh air.

A sound. Kind of a cry. I pause the TV. Not Deuce. Unpause. I hear the cry again, and pause TV with a sigh. Dog hears sound and starts to bark. I charge outdoors to reprimand this person. Instead of some stupid troublemaker, I find the 84 year old neighbor on the ground in the backyard!

The neighbor has clearly fallen on her head/face, evidenced by the grass-stained white hair and slight skinned nose/cheek. Should I call 911? "NO!"

The neighbor says "blah blah, in Italian, blah, I don't speak English, blah, something that I managed to recognize as the word for 'face', Italian words, more Italian words, why didn't I learn the language from Grandma..."

Well, she seems fine, upsadaisy. But I can't lift this woman. (Remind me to lose weight before I get to 84 years old.) Then she's gesturing, and I realize she wants me to go get her nephew who lives 3 doors down. This nephew is in his 70s, but he's more help than the dog, so off I go.

We right her and she said thank you along with many other things to me and the nephew, and the nephew's wife who came down... luckily she's okay.

What was she doing outside? Trying to hang clothes on the line. Her nephew commented "84! use the dryer!" I get that, but man, it's tough bein' old.

Finding meaning in the mop bucket

2009-06-16T15:19:00.003-04:00

In my perpetual state of half-finished, I have found myself outside on a chaise in the sun knitting or reading more and more often. I am loving this. I am loving it because despite all the unfinished stuff that fills my home, and all my sitting around, the house is looking better than ever.

DeuceDad and I don't see eye to eye on housework. My philosophy is that if my kid won't get sick or hurt in our home, it's fine. I push the clutter aside to make room for additional clutter, I clean the toilet, I call it a day. He likes things put away properly but does not under any circumstances clean the toilet. In other words, I'm a "clean" and he's a "neat."

That said, a few weeks ago he expressed some, uh, frustration? annoyance? fear? over the state of the house. There were some very precarious leaning piles. As I've said, I don't care, but if it's important to him I can make it at least marginally important to me. I do love him after all.

So I implemented a lose days of the week schedule to make sure each level of my house is getting some attention every week. I have a split level, so that's 3 days of tidying and cleaning with 2 days for margin of error/naps. It's been working out nicely because it's a small set of things to do each day, and I can make myself do them before I get really bored.

Okay, so all this is cute, right? Housework, leaning town of mail, haha. But here's the tough stuff. All the while I've been overachieving in school, working professional jobs, then being a WOHM I've always said I have much more important things to do than keep house. And now I find myself a SAHM and keeping house is the only thing I have to do. I play with Deuce, I socialize, I do my crafts. But when he's taking his 2-3 hour daily nap, the only actual responsibility I have is the housework. My gut reaction to that is to say "is this what my life's become?" My life is the unimportant things - the things that were beneath me a year ago.

My mom put this in perspective for me. She always told me to be the best I can at whatever I'm doing. That always meant academics or career in my life. Parenting goes without saying that I try to be a good mom, but now my career is homemaker. Mom told me that I need to take pride in my home and be the best homemaker I can be.

She's right. Homemaking isn't beneath me. It's hard work. It's tiring and thankless and repetitive, like so many other jobs I've had can be at times. But it can also bring a sense of satisfaction and pride when the job is well done, and certainly when it gets noticed!

DeuceDad does make a point to say when the house looks nice - and particularly when he notices a giant pile of crap has disappeared. But I'm the one who needs to take notice and appreciate when I've done a good job. I'm the one who needs to hold myself to a higher standard when it comes to this SAHM gig. This is my life after all, and it's not too small for me.

I finally cried

2009-06-13T14:44:00.001-04:00

I held back my tears so well about Robbie growing up until just now. He's in his crib, refusing to nap, saying "woof woof woof" and "oh, man!" I am his mom and I am so happy.

Deuce is Two

2009-06-08T13:22:00.005-04:00

Deuce turned 2 today! We had a busy morning and he's now napping. Time for me to frantically do chores, bake a cake, prepare dinner and wrap his gifts! I don't think he really understands what it means that people keep saying Happy Birthday to him, but it's fun anyway.

I'm doing a good job keeping my emotions in check today. I have had some moments when I wonder how it's possible that he is so tall/smart/independent when 2 years ago today he was brand new and needed his mom and dad for everything. But I've spend the better part of the last year with him so I don't feel like I missed out.

I did a lot of scrapbooking - although I can't say I'm finished with his second year. I have the book divided into sections (events, family, everyday) with coordinating section pages:

I am pretty proud of some of my pages:

The first page has a little dedication.

It reads

Dear Robbie,
As I write this, you are about to turn two. I'm teaching you to say "two" and hold up your two fingers so that you can tell people how old you are. I don't know why this is so fascinating to me, but it is. Probably for the same reason everything you do is amazing to me - you're a fun guy! You're growing up fast and your dad and I get to be there as you become a toddler, and some day a man.
This book is really for me to save my favorite photos and have a place ot write down the stories of your childhood and our adventures as a family. I know I will always want to remember how it felt to help you learn and grow, how you make me smile, even our small frustrations and challenges because they make the happy moments sweeter.
I hope someday you enjoy looking at this book as much as I've enjoyed making it. But if you don't take after me and you're not a sentimental guy, then just know how much happiness you've brought to our family, and in these pages are some of the ways you did that.
My love forever,
Mom

Our Backyard

2009-06-06T16:39:00.002-04:00

is decked out in Backyardigans! Today is Deuce's 2nd birthday party, and we're ready for action. Guests are coming at 5pm and we're going to grill hots and burgers, play a game, have cake and open gifts. The mechanics of the party are all set, but I'm not ready. I mean, I changed out of my sweatpant capris (hot) into jeans (socially acceptable). But mentally I'm not ready. He's out there in a man's outfit kicking a ball around with his dad. Who is this 2 year old and where did he come from.

I'll share my sentiments to him on his actual birthday (Monday). I don't want to get emotional before people come. I will share my recipe for the pasta salad I make for him that he loves.

Pesto Pasta Salad

1 12oz box tri-color rotini
provolone (ask the deli to slice a 1/2 thick piece), diced
hard salami (again with the thick piece), diced
1 small can sliced black olives
1 small can cece beans (aka chick peas, garbanzo beans)
1 packet Good Seasons Italian dressing mix, prepared with balsamic vinegar
1T basil pesto

Cook the pasta, drain and cool under cold water. Combine the dressing with the pesto. Toss it all together - garlicky and delicious! Add cucumbers, diced bell pepper, cherry tomatoes - anything you want to use up.

A good reason to open a bottle of wine

2009-06-02T10:07:00.004-04:00

This Friday I decided to make a nice dinner and open a bottle of the wine we bought in Sonoma. The wine is Cline 2007 Los Carneros Viognier. Dry and fruity, very delicious. I decided to make pasta puttanesca so I could cook with the wine as well as drink it.

Here's a leetle mis en place after the tomatoes were started. This is a good spot to point out one of my favorite kitchen items - Epicurean cutting boards. I have them in 3 sizes and use them every day. Mine are the basic Kitchen series, the thinnest ones, but they are in great shape after 3 years of near daily use and dishwasher cleaning. Have to love the patina (they start out much lighter in color). I'd also like to note that I have never found a gourmet brand of capers. Suggestions? Oh and still using a cheapo knife as we never found the Wustof santoku. But back to the food...

And, if you can excuse my perpetually stained sink, some 10/12 count shrimp I've been saving in the freezer for a celebratory dinner when I get a job. Blerg. But yummy.

And the finished product, steamy and ready for eating!

Want to eat something yummy today?

Puttanesca Sauce with Shrimp

2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t red pepper flakes
28 oz tomatoes (I had crushed on hand, but I also like whole peeled broken up myself)
1/2 C wine (use whatever you're drinking, red or white)
juice of 1 lemon
2T capers, drained
1/2 C kalamata olives, chopped
1/2 C parsley, chopped
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

In a large pan, heat the oil over medium and saute the garlic and red pepper flakes about 2 minutes until garlic is soft. Add the tomatoes and wine to the pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Add lemon juice, capers and olives and stir to combine. Nestle the shrimp in the sauce and bring the heat back up to medium high. Cook just until shrimp are done (10/12 count took about 8 minutes). Add parsley and serve over 1 lb pasta.

Round up

2009-05-31T08:35:00.002-04:00

Katie the Scrapbook Lady does an end of the month roundup that works perfectly with my end of May have to get things done push. It's just some things of interest about the blogger, plus some blog/computer/office maintenance.

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns
What movies, television shows, plays, etc. did I watch this month?
Quantum of Solace, and the season premiere of Jon & Kate Plus 8 *hangs head in shame*
What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?
Saw BIL and SIL at DeuceDad's parents house. Anniversary Party!
What gifts did I give and/or receive?
I got craft supplies and flowers for Mother's Day, and I gave the anniversary album (need to snap some pics of that)
What special or unusual purchases did I make?
LOTS of food and party supplies, a firepit for the backyard
What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
I did squats and literally could barely walk for 3 days
What were my accomplishments this month?
I made my long awaited living room curtains!
What were my disappointments this month?
The curtains are a leetle too narrow
Anything else noteworthy to include?
Finishing projects left and right!

Katie the Scrapbook Lady also has a to-do list which I will honestly say I am up to date uploading pics and that I don't plan to back up files (but she has a computer business, so it's important to her). I will clear off my scrapping space though b/c I have 112 pictures on their way here and lots of scrapping to do before Deuce's birthday party!

The curse of an enthusiastic starter

2009-05-27T13:29:00.002-04:00

is that you never really finish the projects you start. Just in this room, I have shredding and filing, Deuce's 2nd year scrapbook, parts from the anniversary scrapbook, a not-yet-started California vacation book, tags and seed packets for a garden notebook, 2 boxes left from the office overhaul, a gift to return, and 2 half-drank Diet Cokes. I'm not joking. I never finish anything.

It's almost the end of the month, and time to put the full court press on finishing the unfinished. I did this in February and accomplished record amounts (for me) of crocheting and weaving in of yarn ends. I'm cooped up in the office anyway uploading photos - still can't figure out how to stop my internet connection from timing out. Way to go computer professional. Blah.

I don't have a good pic to go with this post, so I'll just share something cute. This is Deuce wearing my dad's hard hat.

He's a hard workin' dude.

Farmer Deuce

2009-05-24T17:58:00.000-04:00

DeuceDad and I planted a vegetable garden today!

There are 2 bell peppers, 1 cubanelle, 1 Italian long peppers, 4 cherry tomatoes, 1 yellow squash, 1 cucumber and a pumpkin plant. They're adorable little babies!

DeuceDad built this raised garden, or box garden, because our soil is a just very thin layer of clay dust over tree roots, and it was less work (and expense) to build a frame and fill it with topsoil than to rent a rototiller and work the manure and peat moss into the ground. The grass in this yard is so sad. But we're working on it.

According to the signs at the garden store, the plants will mature in anywhere from 55-75 days. It seems so long to wait, but that's the northeast for you. I have herbs started in little pots that I've successfully kept watered for 3 weeks now, so there's hope for homegrown veggies.

The party was a success by the way, with the only 'fail' being that I cooked about 4x too much food! It's just stupid how much food is left over in the fridge. We're eating away at it and giving away what we can, but I have a feeling we're not going to be in the mood for pasta salad or pulled pork for a while after this.

T minus 28 hours

2009-05-22T11:45:00.000-04:00

I have a few things left to do before the anniversary party tomorrow. And by a few I mean I should not be here at the computer. But I know I won't get a chance to do this tomorrow, so I just wanted to share a cute pic of my parents (at dinner in Rome). It's hard to appreciate your parents' marriage because as a kid it doesn't mean much. Unless of course they decide to end it. But through good times and bad my parents have stayed together. And coming from the place of party-planner, anniversary-album-maker and photo-gatherer I can say that they have shared a lot of happy times. My life is different from there's in many ways, but I hope that 30 years into my marriage I find myself on my dream vacation with my husband who is also my best friend, a little buzzed on house red wine and smiling for the camera.

Boy: (noun) a noise with dirt on it

2009-05-21T15:40:00.003-04:00

That is all for now.

Happy Mothers Day!

2009-05-10T09:36:00.000-04:00

For mother's day, I'm having brunch with my mom and grandma. I plan to have someone take a flattering picture of me with my child.

Have a wonderful Mother's Day, moms!

Hi Again

2009-05-08T08:41:00.004-04:00

Hi! I haven't posted in so long, it took me a second to remember my blogger password - yike!

I got derailed when I couldn't find my object for H for the ABC-along. My Clover Soft Touch crochet hook size H was MIA. In fact, it's solid gone and I bought a new one. Phew!

Life has been a little crazy lately. I accidentally put my hand throught the glass in one of our storm doors and cut my hand up. That was probably the only bad thing that's happened lately!

Those old bushes have been replaced by some lily and iris plants. I would like to fill in around the some because apparently the shock of transplanting makes them not bloom that year. And we need some color. But I've been dutifully watering (and it's been raining) so I think they're going to live. Woo hoo! Grass seed is even growing. It's a big accomplishment for me.

I did the invitations for my parents' anniversary party. Look how in love...

That's in 2 weeks. I have a lot to do before then.

Applying to jobs, obviously. I had to go to one of those "justify your existence" meetings for department of labor. Can't find a job as a software engineer huh? Surprise, surprise. But I applied for something at the mecca of all things grocery, Wegmans. That would be my dream I think. Well, you know, loving family notwithstanding.

I got my mother's day present - craft supplies! Shadow boxes for my dried roses (I keep most of the flowers DeuceDad gives me), some yarn for the racetrack run (almost ready for it's photo shoot), a new H hook, fresh Cricut cutting mats, and a new Cricut cartridge - Mickey Font! So fun for the toddler in my life!

Well, you're up to speed, and I'm back at it. Enjoy your Friday!

G is for Gift Knitting

2009-04-23T10:02:00.002-04:00

Today's G is courtesy of Carly.

I looove handmade things, and for my birthday Carly made me a Faberge Cowl. It's Malabrigo Worsted in Polygala, and it's so soft on my neck I wore it all winter without the slightest itch.

Gift knitting is kind of a landmine. I have gifted only five things that I can think of. Three baby blankets, a pair of mittens, and an afghan. Of those, I only know for sure that one is in regular use. And that's the afghan I gave my Grandma, and if I have her a used Kleenex she would display it proudly as one of my greatest accomplishments.

The next few things in my queue are all gifts though. The thing is that I only need just so many crocheted/knitted items for myself, but I love to crochet. I get a lot of pleasure out of just making something. So I guess if it's destined to collect dust, so be it.

F is for Fast

2009-04-21T08:31:00.004-04:00

Today's F is brought to you by Jake, Carly's husband (eee so excited for them).

F is for fast - fast like my swift! Jake made this for me for Christmas this year, along with a nostepinne. He turned parts on the lathe, and used some kind of special bearing for speed. He even repurposed a pool cue - it's really one of a kind.

Here are the glamour shots:

The whole outfit with some Misti Alpaca worsted

The nostepinne, with a very handy groove in the handle for holding the tail. Apparently this design change was suggested by Carly.

And one of the very cool (don't know the name of the part) thingies (?) made from a pool cue.

So back to the word at hand - fast. Obviously a swift is faster than using two chairs or your feet or something to hold a hank of yarn while it is wound. But this swift is FAST. It has this flat bearing that just glides like a dream... it's a precision instrument. Leave it to a mechanical engineer.

Thanks again, Jake, for my awesome gift.

E is for Everyday

2009-04-20T08:24:00.003-04:00

With some exceptions here and there, I crochet (or now knit) every day. One of my many guilty pleasures is TV, but I can't just sit and watch it. I used to scrapbook in front of TV, back in a world before helping hands and hungry dogs, but now I can't leave anything out on the coffee table, and I'm way too disorganized to bring everything out and put it all away.

The funny thing is that for the number of hours I spend with yarn on my lap, I don't have too awful much to show for it. My numbers of FOs are low. Or maybe it's the size of the projects. I do make a lot of blankets. But I wonder if you counted the stitches in a blanket vs a sock on US 00's how much difference there is.

And besides, it's not all crocheting. I mean, I do actually watch some of the shows. And eat dessert. All work and no play, right?

Here's a peek at my latest project. It's going to be a racetrack rug. It's an oval of green with rounds of this loopy stitch for grass, then a black "track" then more "grass" and a felt backing sewn on the back. It's for Deuce's birthday. I'm slowly changing his room over to transportation theme.

''m halfway through the track now. I hope to have the crocheting done this week. I'm getting bored of SC round and round and round, and am excited for the loop stitch again and the background. Little by little...

D is for Double Crochet

2009-04-18T16:27:00.003-04:00

Wow, back to ABC-Along (thanks Carly for reminding me that we're way behind!)

My D is for double crochet - my worst stitch. It's actually my fastest stitch, but it just comes out so loose. I have to go down 2 hooks sizes from what's recommended for the yarn to get gauge. I'm glad I have it figured out now because it's used in so many blanket patterns.

I made two blankets while I was pregnant, and before I realized the importance of gauge. I love this blanket because Deuce and I spend many happy hours wrapped in it nursing. It is also full of holes. Like, holes between stitches. Not my best work, but it's sentimental now.

This one is a basketweave pattern of FPDC and BPDC, and this one I realy should have swatched. The pattern squares aren't squares, plus there's a halfer at one end. Really bad work. The only thing I like is that it has a round of reverse single crochet that makes a nice edge.
More recently, I've made two Seija Sets, and on these I used the hat as a gauge swatch (apparently that's an Elizabeth Zimmerman trick. Who knew?) These I'm much more pleased with because they don't look so sloppy. Actually, the blanket in the photo could do with a machine washing and a stiff tug at the corners, but that will come soon enough. It's a baby set after all.

So there's a tour through some DC, I stitch I think I've mastered.

Not too shabby

2009-04-16T15:02:00.005-04:00

We've made some pretty serious progress landscaping the house in the last week. The first step was to remove the original landscaping, then step back and enjoy a clean slate. Check out what DeuceDad accomplished this weekend!

All along the porch were three 5 ft high shrubs. Yes, only three of them. They took a chainsaw and a stump grinder to remove.

I basically just wrangled toddler and dog, and hauled brush. So today I thought I'd contribute a little more to the yard cleanup and demo-ed the "planter." I use the term planter loosely as nothing was planted in it.

This:

Was reduced to this... (don't ask where the grass went. It's only April in upstate NY, which, sadly, is too early for grass)

... and this...

Deceiving how many bricks were in there because many of them were buried. Yes, buried in the earth. When people retire they need to take up golf, not burying masonery supplies in the yard!

After that satisfying demo, it was lunch time and time for some more domestic pursuits. Spring cleaning has created unprecidented amounts of laundry. (2 days, for reference, and contains pillows):

All work and no play makes me hungry for cookies, so I whipped up a batch of these lovelies!

Those are Amish Sugar Cookies, with spring M&Ms added. I hadn't had this recipe since my grandma moved to senior living, so maybe 7 years ago, and I forgot how delicious and fine-textured they are. The M&Ms actually kind of take them down a level. They would have been better substituted for chips in the tollhouse recipe.

But back to the cookies at hand. This is an awesome recipe I need to put back into regular rotation and is from my Grandma Anne - no idea the origin (but if you had to guess? maybe the Amish?).

Amish Sugar Cookies

1 C butter, softened

1 C vegetable oil

1 C sugar

1 C confectioners sugar

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

4 1/2 C flour

1 t baking soda

1 t cream of tartar

Combine the butter, oil and sugars in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat 1 minute until well blended. In a separate bowl, sift and combine flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Add to wet ingredients and mix to combine. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 375 for 8-10 minutes. Enjoy!

Makes 5 dozen.

Free Labrador!

2009-04-14T08:13:00.003-04:00

Up for adoption is one Labrador Retriever, no papers, eight months old, neutered, microchipped, friendly with young children! Comes filled with cheesecake!

(At this point I hope you're thinking "CHEESECAKE?" Why would a dog come filled with cheesecake? Oh, because HE ATE ONE and it's IN HIS STOMACH.)

And now you know why I want to give away the dog. My plan for a post-Easter post was to tell the tale of the cassata cake. History, recipe, pictures. A real foodie post. Unfortunately, I chose to bring said cake up to room temp on our sideboard at dog height. Then I chose to shower. I think I could have pulled off one of those things and ended up with an intact dessert, but not both. My brown furry friend decided to jump up, eat the delectable cinnamon crust from all the way around, most likely consuming a few chocolate chips out of the perfectly-textured ricotta filling in the process, leaving the cake unable to be consumed by people, let alone served for a holiday.

I would have loved nothing more than to take his tags off and push him into the street never to be seen again.

But I couldn't. After only a month, I have a real soft spot for this animal, Marly tendencies and all. How can you help but love an animal who loves Deuce this much?

My First Million

2009-04-09T14:23:00.003-04:00

Photos that is! I have saved roughly $900,000 dollars on photo developing by using a digital camera. I now take photos by the hundreds (per day!) and develop a tenth of those. Still too many, but I'm sentimental.

We took 466 photos in less than 4 days in California. I had to delete some on day 4 because I didn't bring a second card!

San Francisco Bay from Hyde St.

Me sniffing wysteria in someone's front yard

What a great trip! I don't know if I've really mentioned it here, but we went to San Francisco, then Sonoma for my BIL and Carly's wedding. My parents watched Deuce for 5 days and actually called to say they were missing having him around. I was sure they would have had enough, but I guess he was great. Too young to miss us? That's what I'm sticking with ;)

We had Gunny neutered while he was begin boarded. No pics of that - if you want to see a dog's empty sack I suggest becoming a vet. It seems all the animals in this house are missing parts. We have the fang-less cat and the ball-less dog. Animal self esteem is at an all time low, and number of stitches is at an all time high.

Will post more pics soon. I'm not done processing all yet. I took some time out to watch Biggest Loser. Got to have those priorities straight.

Being Grandma

2009-04-01T08:07:00.003-04:00

Catching up on some blog reading, while Deuce is in his just-woke-up stupor, and read this. Kaiser Mommy did a really interesting sort of survey of the life of her grandmother, pointing out the admirable qualities along with some of the troubles that hid in the lives of so many women in that world before women shared their struggles with moms groups, blog readers and therapists.

And of course the comparison to her own life is eerily familiar. Jammies? Check! Kid in front of TV? Check! Dishes that didn't fit into dishwasher last night still on counter? Double Check!

I am still looking at this time at home as an extended weekend. Sure, there are things that need to get done, but soon (how soon?) I'm going to go back to work and not have all this time to enjoy Deuce, my hobbies, and house shoes. I'm living it up!

Should I exercise regularly, and keep a housework schedule? Obsotootly. But I'm not that person regardless of my job, my kid, or anything else. I hope my grandma, Kaiser Mommy's grandma, and all our grandmas felt happy at the end of their day.

Phew, sentimental!

I'm going to go feed my kid maple syrup and then try to keep up. I think that's what Grandma would have done.

I could do that

2009-03-31T08:10:00.003-04:00

Every time I don't get a job I interviewed for (and every time I have PMS according to DeuceDad) I start an introspective on my skills, my goals, my job search, and the hopelessness of it all. It usually comes back around to the fact that I have a very specific degree and skill set and unless I pursue formal training in something else there is nothing I can do for much over minimum wage. As long as Deuce needs day care, we will actually lose money if I go to work for minimum wage. And I'm not talking about losing money relative to unemployment. I talking, it will cost us money out of the bank to pay for daycare, pay our taxes, and work for $7.ish. How sick is that?

It hasn't stopped me entirely. I just applied for what could be a cool tech support job with a big chain of auto mechanics. We'll see.

In the meantime, I'm playing the "I could do that" game. See a job, read a news story or drive down the road while unemployed and you start to see people working doing things you took for granted. Mowing the median on the highway. Folding shirts into perfect rectangles. Cleaning houses, walking dogs, delivering beer to the grocery store, the list goes on and on.

When it comes down to it, I'm still just scouring the websites. I haven't lost hope that I'll find a software engineering job and life will go back to the way it was. Working days, having time as a family, having pocket money. There is a time limit on that hope, and you might just see me stocking shelves on second shift. I could do that.

Ready for spring

2009-03-30T08:50:00.002-04:00

Deuce is ready to see some green.

Spring Eating

2009-03-25T11:14:00.003-04:00

I love buying in bulk, and it shows.

I don't even have a picture of can-cabinet part deux and the spice cabinet!

One of my spring cleaning/moneysaving tasks for the week is to use up some of the food we have. Did I mention we have a chest freezer too? My goal is really to have one cabinet with canned goods (instead of the second overflowed one), no food on the top of the fridge, and bulk storage in some of the useless recesses of the cabinets (have I mentioned this kitchen is poorly designed? No? Oh, well it is.).

The situation isn't too bad as is, but there are still boxes of kitchen items to be unpacked, and there is nowhere but nowhere to put anything addtional in this kitchen.

The best part is that when we've used up some of the old stuff, I get to buy fresh new pantry-fodder! Don't say it. I know ;)

Year 1 Scrapbook

2009-03-23T09:40:00.002-04:00

Deuce's first year scrapbook is in the binder! All 92 pages...

There are two odd pages that I need to fill due to 2-page LOs that offset some of the single page LOs. I'm sure I'll think of something, with the hundreds of photos I have left. I need to be much more judicious when ordering photos in future.

Anyhow, a few people have seen the finished product and I think it's a success. So many memories went into each page. Some have wordy stories, but some tell the story all by themselves.

Sharing

2009-03-22T20:34:00.001-04:00

Just because you're sharing doesn't mean it's fair.

Whoa

2009-03-19T15:07:00.002-04:00

It has been so long since my last post - not for lack of things to talk about.

I do want to say that EFT is the bane of my existance. I haven't been going to Jazzercise much because of some pain in my heel (plantar fasciitis by all accounts). So it's time to cancel, right? Well, God forbid you ask to cancel on the 16th rather than the 15th of the month. "Too late." Bullshit it's too late. Bullshit. Well, I guess I'll need to start taking that anti-inflamatory and get my but there for one more month because I'm paying for it, like it or not.

In the time I haven't spend playing phone tag with customer service, and receiving firm encouragement from DeuceDad to not be a pushover, I've been creativity-ing it up. Lots and lots of outside play with Deuce and Gunny, I have Deuce's first year scrapbook in the covers and only needing 2 odd pages, cooking food, crocheting and knitting.

I keep meaning to start spring cleaning/projects, but where's the fun in that? I had to do some cleaning today because my friend buzzed Deuce's hair in his highchair, and when the hair stuck to the jelly/syrup/tomato sauce coating I had to take it outside and take the hose to it.

A quick reread sounds a little whiny, but no real complaints here. My crocuses are sprouting and DeuceFamily's feelin' fine.

Meet Gunny!

2009-03-05T07:23:00.002-05:00

Meet our dog!! We decided to adopt a dog yesterday - not out of the blue, but off schedule. He was just a random find on craigslist. He is 7 months old, and is mostly chocolate lab, but he has a little bit of something else too. Maybe pit bull, maybe weimaraner. I've also hear American Lab. The vet seems to think mostly lab with some mystery mutt, but of course it doesn't matter b/c this guy's getting neutered next month!

The first night with him went really well. He slept on a dog bed on the floor in our bedroom. I just can't get past my bed-hogging enough to consider sharing with a 45 lb animal! How will I stretch out?

I'm so glad the weather has gotten nice today because this guy needs a lot of exercise. Deuce is only good for about 20 minutes outside when it's below 30 degrees, so today I'm looking forward to a really long walk.

I am a little torn on one thing - his name. The previous owner was a former Gunnery Sargeant in the Marines - Gunny. I really don't like the name, but he responds to it. I don't want to totally wreck his world, but I would like to consider changing his name to Sarge. I changed Claude's name (from Applehead - yike!), but that's different since a cat doesn't listen no matter what they think their name is.

As for the creativity project - well I adopted a dog yesterday so that was enough there, and today I creatively managed a toddler and puppy at the vet at lunch time. If I don't collapse soon I'm making this for dinner.

Setting the bar low

2009-03-04T08:24:00.002-05:00

On Wednesday morning, I accomplish one of my weekly goals. This goal is so small, but brings me so much joy. Are you ready for it...

I fill the garbage can to the brim. And try to overflow the recycling bin for good measure.

You may have noticed that DeuceHouse is super-duper-overflowing-with-junk-full-to-the-point-of-insanity. Or, as I like to ~~rationalize~~ say, ready for anything.

Last week we took down those red curtains you see in every photo of my family room, and 10 lbs of dust went with them. This week I threw away packing paper from shipping Christmas gifts.

I love the exhiliration that comes with success.

Tuesday Napday

2009-03-03T07:50:00.002-05:00

Tuesday seems to be nap day for me, but I think I can break with tradition just this once. What could possibly be worth it? My house is at that point where it could easily be kept fairly neat, or slide into disaster. Seriously, just 30 minutes of picking up and I'll be happy.

New recipe last night was a bust. Just didn't bring much to the table. I even used a little of my creativity by adding more garlic and toasting the almonds (I didn't have roasted). Then I went to Jazzercise and shook it for an hour.

Then home to work on another Seija Set. That didn't last long, as I immediately dropped my second H hook down the couch (yes, both of them are down there now) and wasn't in the mood to turn the chaise over to get it out.

So I went back to the hat for DeuceDad. I'm starting to be able to rock a little on 2x2 rib. I'm still trying to knit Continental style, and I'm not 100% sure I'm doing it right. I don't "pick" the yarn without the help of another one of my fingers, but this video shows using a finger for help. It just seems a little strange.

I'm going to come out of my knitting shell and go to some groups this week. Tonight is church knitting group. Maybe someone there can answer my Continental question, plus they're going to be my outlet for tons of practice knitting on stashed acrylic. Then Thursday I'm either going to hit a yarn store sit-n-knit, or, if I feel super outgoing, Chicks with Sticks. CWS seems like a younger crowd who knits in bars and coffee houses. A much better opportunity to meet potential dudes, but certainly outside my fibercrafting comfort zone (which until now has been limited to my couches).

Oookay - breakfast, coffee, playgroup, then all this crafty business! Here I go!!

Monday Monday

2009-03-02T10:02:00.002-05:00

Off to a good start on the Creativity Project. I made a new recipe for dinner - Asian short ribs from Real Simple. I had never cooked that piece of meat before. It was a hit all the way around the table!

Didn't sew yesterday because BFFs normally super neat and clean house was all pushed into her living room for painting. I need to just bite the bullet, mop my kitchen floor, and sew those curtains here.

Two scrapbook pages - and when I ran out of juice I just stopped. Why push it? Got inspiration from Pencil Lines.

And last but not least, Deuce and I did an "in like a lion, out like a lamb" project. I printed out a lion and a lamb, he colored them, and then glued cotton balls to the lamb and yarn to the lion's mane and tail - so cute!

Today's challenge is to think of a creative way to get Deuce to behave at the library while I check out books. Strap him into the stroller? Worth a try.

Keep Marching

2009-03-01T10:03:00.003-05:00

The month of March really snuck up on me - welcome to March!

Weather-wise I was hoping for some "in like a lion, out like a lamb" action, but it's sunny and cold outside. Is that liony or lamby?

Happiness-wise, I'm leaving February behind. The end of the month was really tough on me (you may have noticed the emotional thrashing) and I know that I am wasting this precious time that I have to be a SAHM, and I'm not going to do that. I'm living my dream right now, and I'm going to appreciate it.

So let's talk about this month. So much to do, and I feel exhilirated thinking about it. We have a wedding to prepare for, spring cleaning to do, a mom's group that I just stumbled into, a new hobby, and the return of warmer weather. I'm ready!

I'm adding a little something to keep me thinking. It's The Creativity Project. The basic gist it to do something creative each day, particularly by adding some fun to the day-to-day routine things. Coincidentally, I made this week "new recipes" week, so I think I was kind of doing this idea inadvertently. And BFF and I were planning on sewing curtains together today.

So here's to March - a month where I plan to use my "more complaints" tag less, and my smile muscles more!

Misery-fest revisited

2009-02-27T13:45:00.002-05:00

I'll tell you what rescued yesterday's misery-fest. I was presented with evidence that I am not stupid.

The Palm incident was the straw that broke the camel's back - I just thought all hope was lost for me if I couldn't install software off a CD and plug in a cable. After DeuceDad came home, I closed myself off in the office and resolved not to leave until I could HotSync the phone. I did leave the office without accomplishing that goal, but by no fault of my own. Turns out, our new PC is running the 64-bit version of Vista, which requires the phone to sync using Bluetooth. I don't have a USB Bluetooth adapter! So there's no way it could work! Even if I was a genius! PHEW!

What an enormous relief that I'm not incapable of performing simple tasks. (No, I'm not trying to insult people who don't know how computers work. I'm a software engineer. Installing software should be a simple task for me. It's like a nurse putting on a bandaid, or at least it should be.)

I'm still raw from yesterday, though. I have this interview (In 7 minutes!!). I kept the appointment a) in case I am wrong about the location, and b) for interviewing practice. Neither of those would be a bad thing. But just rereading the abject misery from yesterday makes me think I need some perspective. I'm not sure what that means right now, but going off the deep end over computer software is a bad sign.

Alright, 1:50. Deep breath...

Why oh why is my therapist copay $40?

2009-02-26T15:32:00.003-05:00

I'm back in complete and utter, although hopefully very short-lived, depression. I got a call for a phone interview! The catch - I'm 90% sure it would be a 90 minute commute. I have a baby at home. I can't be away from him 11+ hours 5 days a week.

Then I tried to install my Palm software (which I've been putting off b/c I knew it would be a nightmare) and something is fucked up, I think with the phone. The phone I had no business getting b/c I'm not working.

So I cried. Argh.

This is the time when it would be so great to have that rockin' out playlist and just go out and run until I'm spent. Or, let's face it, alternate jogging and walking which would just piss me off.

This would also be a good time to get a little wine drunk with girlfriends. Oh, I only have one friend here. I left my group of friends to come to the land of milk and honey and the great job opportunity. Great trade.

This would be a good time to just be in the house alone. Except it's messy and everything's half finished and we can't afford to finish anything BECAUSE I'M NOT WORKING.

This would be a good time to go out and treat myself to a new purse WHICH I CAN'T AFFORD.

This would be a good time to sob hysterically and fall asleep. But I just heard the crib rattle.

Time to put on the happy face. Maybe if I can convince him I can save this day.

C is for Corner

2009-02-25T09:32:00.002-05:00

C is for my corner. My crochet corner. I have a lamp so I can see my stitches, a table for piles of books and other goodies...

Bags and bags and bags of UFOs and yarn...

All reachable from the chaise!

It's a happy place to be!

Scrapbooking for the dedication impaired

2009-02-24T16:43:00.002-05:00

I am closing in on the end of Deuce's first year scrapbook. He is 20 months old. By all accounts, this is not that bad. Scrapbookers either keep on top of their photos or fall hopelessly behind. I mean, I'm hopelessly behind, but the end of a huge milestone is in sight.

Remaining I have:

Thompson Park Zoo
Finding Feet
Photo shoot
Maxwell (ILs dog)
Easter
Packing to move
Hop & Pop (a fave toy)
Finish Christmas
Watching baseball with Grandpa Jeff
Playing with Grandpa Bob
Learning to stand
Playing music
Bubbles
Learning to walk
Claude Haiku
Me & Cousin Joey

I would like to do 4 of these topics per day and be done by the end of the week. That will never happen. I'm holding myself to an impossibly high standard of page quality and have been investing an hour per page minimum. I seems like if I don't struggle with design or journalling it's narrowing down photos or choosing paper. And I can NEVER find the right embellishments.

I just feel like if I can get over this hump I can get into the second year and be foot loose and fancy free. Until May, when I'll burn through countless trimmer blades trying and failing to finish the book before his birthday.

Hello Goodbye

2009-02-23T08:46:00.003-05:00

Hello to my new hobby - knitting! That is a partially finished 8" charity lapghan square in Red Heart Super Saver on a 9" #8 straight bamboo needle. I have lots (LOTS!) of Red Heart that I just cannot throw away. I know this makes real yarn lovers question my sanity, but I can't throw things away. It's a sickness. Someone from my church who runs the knitting group has offered to help me learn, and I offered to make lots of squares for her afghans in return. I think I'm getting better at garter stitch. There are some holes and uneven-ness, but it's getting there.

I also make a ribbed hat for Deuce, but it came out tiny and I can't get him to leave it on long enough to take a picture.

I haven't given up on crochet. I just need a change of scenery after months of single-crochet on the SU blanket. I made myself a Diamond Ridges hat for a challenge. The pattern is modeled after Koolhaas, and it's very cool. (Sorry for the funky pic, too impatient to wait for a photographer)

And goodbye is to our houseguest Abbey. What a sweet little girl...

House guest

2009-02-17T08:49:00.002-05:00

This is Abbey!

She's my aunt's 7 year old Pomeranian. She's really sweet, and actually getting along famously with Claude. They both slept in bed with us last night and there were no claws or teeth!

Deuce is loving having a dog around and quickly learned how to throw her ball for her (she LOVES fetch). It's only been one day, but she's reinforcing my desire to get a dog.

I'm still kind of pulling for a smaller breed (Boston terrier? Beagle?) because even with the dog and cat in bed with us, I still had room to stretch my legs out. And NO ONE messes with my sleep unless I birthed them myself. And even then I don't take kindly to sleep-stealers.

Back to my point on the dog though - it's fun having a dog around, and I really can't wait to get one of our own!

B is for Blanket

2009-02-11T20:23:00.004-05:00

The SU blanket is done!! I am very happy with how it came out. It's very heavy fabric (all sc) and manly (no picot edge or other typical crochet embellishments). And it's long enough to cover DeuceDad from tip to toe!!

Deuce can't resist an opportunity to ham for the camera:

Doesn't love the camera:

Snuggled:

I'm so happy with how the project turned out!

So Yummy

2009-02-11T14:19:00.004-05:00

Nope, not a food post. I'm done with my scrap room reorganize and I can see all my tools and products. So Yummy.

Here's everything in mountainous piles:

And the after shot:

So happy!

Scrap room purgatory

2009-02-07T19:57:00.002-05:00

Three days removed from scrapbook hell, and 11 hours of moving, sorting and dusting later, I find myself in scrapbook room purgatory. It's not heaven, it's not hell. It could go either way. There are still some key elements that haven't found a home in the room yet (namely my bins of actual "scraps" to scrapbook) and I haven't made a page yet, so I have no idea if I'm going to be able to pull out a piece of card stock without the whole mess falling on the cat.

But I don't get the sensation of rolling anything uphill all day long when I come in here, so it must be time well spent.

Oh, and my cameras have a real home! Right next to the books I need to read... I swear sometimes projects like this turn up more to-do list items than actually resolve any problems. For example, I overheated the shredder 3 times after cleaning out the filing cabinet. Poor innocent shredder.

I've also been listening to music - I try to make a point of doing this so that Deuce doesn't grow up in a world of only "Rubber Ducky, You're the One." I borrowed Snow Patrol and Jack Johnson (Sleep Through the Static - who knew he had released another album?), and when those wore out I switched over to last.fm. I was a huge fan of the now-defunct Pandora, and last is even better because you have unlimited skips!

So that was my day. More to do, but that's what gets us up in the morning, right?

In the midst of scrap room hell

2009-02-04T20:16:00.002-05:00

I haven't scrapped in a week, and I just zoned out to the point that I couldn't hear Deuce pulling stuff out of the over-the-door shoe holder I use to store stamps/punches etc. I'm surfing for inspiration, adding blogs to my feed reader and thinking I should update the blog roll on this page.

What woke me from this reverie? A writing style I just had to share. Check out Kelli Crowe's blog. The way she uses line breaks is so great! It's like haiku-blogging. I think she might use line breaks in place of commas. Anyhow, she's not saying anything so different from what I or any other blogger says about their family/hobby/daily life. It just looks different.

Journalling has always been the most difficult part of scrapbooking for me. To that point, I've never been able to keep up a journal, even as an exercise to improve my scrapbooking. This blog is by far the most writing I've done for enjoyment. I like to use photos, layout and embellishments to tell the story as best as possible. Journal prompts and clever titles are my friends.

I think this differently-punctuated writing style might elevate my scrapbook journalling. Instead of trying to dream up flowery words and phrases, I can still tell my stories my way. And just put them on paper differently so that a word on a line jumps out at and tells it's own story.

What a find!