Knitting, Spinning...and Pregnancy

Well, I didn't quite meet my once a month.  Last month was a doozy for me.  I found out I'm pregnant!  Yay!  Due May 16th as of right now, so about a month before Caim turns 3.  Right as she is a tiny beast too, fun, fun, fun.  This too shall pass.  This too shall pass.  This too shall pass.  Right?  Right?  Oh, God, I hope so.

I finally got sorted into the HPKCHC, which for you nonRavelers out there, it's the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup.  And I love it!  I'm in Slytherin.  I love my house, my nest, my mates...it's fantastic.  But I am finding an issue.  I have to put in one project, not detention, so a brand new project, for a minimum of 1 class each month.  Shouldn't be hard, right?  Well, I'm having the same issue with this pregnancy I had with the last one.  Last time I had a hard time scrapbooking because it made me ill.  And I'm having the same issue with knitting.  Ridiculous.  I actually have to push myself to do it.  I have hats I'm doing for my cousin's daughters, hopefully matching doll hats for them as well.  But it's got to be actually knitted!  Hello!  I've cast on after talking to the designer about sizing issues and I have yet to do another row.  I got my loom all set up,  now I just need to put my butt into gear.

That leads my to my homework.  Yes, homework.  Not the work from work, cause I'm choosing to take it a little easy there right now.  I am just so exhausted all the time, I can't push myself more than I have to, and that's a choice I'm making for me and my baby.  I could definitely use the money.  Couldn't we all?  Sure we could.  But it's not worth my health right now, which is wreaking havoc.  My stomach, constant nausea, migraines galore.  It's fantabulous.  But for an Anniversary present, Jeff told me he wanted to buy me a spinning wheel!  My very own spinning wheel!  I've dreamt of one since I started getting fiber to spindle spin.  So I got a Kromski Sonata on 10-13.  It's beautiful.  I don't have a pic of my wheel, but I have taken a pic off of New Voyager's website to show you what it looks like.  I'll put a pic of mine soon enough.

So the guy who sold it to me from Wool, Warp & Wheel in Richmond, IL was super nice.  I treadled on it for a bit.  A few other wheels as well.  This one felt the best for me, best distance in treadles, best feel, it was  wonderful.  So I took it home.  He showed me maintenance, how to break it down (cause it's portable), how to put it back up, but not how to spin any fiber.  I figured I could watch some videos online, like I did with the spindle.  Yeah, it was just not working.  So I just happened to go to the site I saw TLD Design Studio and see if they had classes...sure enough they had one that started last Saturday!  So I signed up and it was spindle spinning last Saturday and it's wheel spinning this Saturday!  I'm so excited to learn how to finally get that fiber onto my wheel.  But my homework.  Yep, I'm coming back around.  I have to spin at least 10 minutes a day and I'll bring in what I spun to show Betty Burian Kirk...who is amazing and a really good teacher, by the way.  So I've had to take what little time I have at home at night to knit and spin to I can really, really get my drafting down as much as possible before the wheel class.  So it's put a bit of a hindrance on my knitting.  So now I really have to bust out some knitting this weekend.  And we're going to head to he Boo at the Zoo at Brookfield on Sunday and Saturday I have the class.  Doesn't leave me much time.  Send some happy knitting vibes my way so I can ease myself and just knit a little bit every night and bust out this hat before Halloween!  Yet again, maybe I should just knit up something really quick, if I can, and put it into a class and not worry about whether I get the hat done.  Ugh, I don't know.

LeakyCon 2012

Well, I did my LeakyCon last week.  It was fantastic....but sooooo tiring.  Let me say, if I did it again?  If it was ever local again, I would just suck it up and stay on location.  There's no way I'd commute again.  I missed the night stuff so I could see my girl at home and so I could make trains.  I also had such pain in my knees and feet from all the walking and standing, and the train-to-hotel walks did not help matters.  What can you do?
Plus, if I were to go to the ball, I would have had to carry those clothes with me back and forth and lug even more stuff.  Not worth the killing of my shoulders.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience.  I hugged Evanna Lynch **SQUEE** she's beautiful in person, even more so than on screen.  If you don't know who she is?  She's Luna Lovegood in the HP movies.  If you still don't know?  IMDB.

I got to be 6 feet away from Darren Criss and smile and wave cause he was saying hi to all the volunteers after the really LONG but also AWESOME "A Very Potter Musical: A Very Senior Year 3D"

There were some perks, though it sucked that I had to make a train and had to miss the Lit signing that I wanted to go to with all the authors on Saturday evening....which I was late to getting into line for because of the volunteering at the AVPM show.  I don't regret volunteering or watching it, but I really wanted signatures of some of the authors that I didn't have a chance to get earlier.  Oh well, life goes on, I guess.  Maybe another time.

The HP Actors panel was fantastic!  They are awesome people, talk so genuinely and just hang out with us all.  It was fabulous.  Got a picture in a group with the 4 of them after, but as of last time I checked it was not posted yet to the LeakyCon Flickr page.  But that puppy is getting saved to the computer and printed out.  How can I not??

Unfortunately, I highly doubt I can go to the LeakyCon 2013 in London, amazing as that would be.  I also doubt I'll go to the Portland one next year either, unless we decide to make a vacation out of it and I don't volunteer, just do programming, so I could spend time with my family.

I enjoyed the programming.  I enjoyed all but 1 member of the staff.  I don't know her name, I know what she looks like, but we're busting our asses, and if your badge is flipped and I don't know you?  Don't yell at me for not knowing you're staff and can skip the lines and go in early.  They should just throw the volunteers a little bit of slack for doing their jobs, which most of them did.  But 1 bad apple makes a sour taste in your mouth for the whole thing.

I did make friends with so many wonderful people.  They're amazing people, a great fandom, a great expansion into things encompassing all books and genres, it's fantastic.  I loved it.  And it was great how many regular attendees kept telling us we were doing so great and thanks for doing it, they couldn't imagine what we were dealing with (like getting  yelled at by hotel management...yep, I sure did.  For what?  Um, a gigantic line of 4,000 people that were lined up through their whole hallway that had to cross the main thoroughfare of the hotel the same night that people were shuttling out for a Bears game.  Right...I could realllllly control that.  But hey, you can't win 'em all).  And I got so many thank yous, hugs, high-fives, it was a great experience.  And even with the extra crabby stuff thrown in, I would volunteer again, but like I said, only if I'm not commuting.

Crafting

I'm going to try harder to post more often.  This is the start.  Dad's hip replacement was 2 days ago, he's doing all right.  In pain, but this pain will dissipate as opposed to the pain he had from the bone-on-bone hip for months.  That had to be horrendous.

My brother's birthday was yesterday, 27!  Wow, I can't believe it!  And of course there's just too much that's been going on, so I'm the bad only sister who will give him a birthday present late.  Bad sister!  What makes me even worse?  I don't even know what to get him!  I guess that's what happens when you don't live with someone anymore, you just don't see the every day things that they need and want and like to surprise them with.  Blech.

And on crafting.  I just have to say, I wish I could craft for a living.  I love my job, don't get me wrong, although I'm slacking a tad right now writing this instead of doing a transcript.  But as soon as I finish this, that transcript will have my full attention.  I don't love the homework with my job.  But that aside, I wish I could stay home, take care of Caim, have a schedule, make dinners that I can plan and have time to prep and make, keep up on the house stuff every day instead of late at night and on weekends, and craft: spin, knit, and scrap.  I have so many thoughts and ideas and want to do so much....and I just don't have the time. Not a bit.  And then I end up wiped out at work because I do this stuff late at night and it's just frustrating.  I am not complaining, I have a job.  A job that pays at that.  Good insurance...as of now.  A roof over my head, all that stuff.  But let me tell you, if I could just stay home and do that with schedules and doing and making?  I'd do it in a heartbeat.  I would always find something to keep me busy.

With that, I will get back to my real life.  The actual job and homework.

Been a little....

Well, it's been a while since I have posted, but that's life.  And life gets in the way.  Today my dad is having hip replacement surgery....right now as I write this, as a matter of fact.  So extra prayers it all goes well and for a nice recover, if you please.

My baby girl isn't a baby anymore :(  She's 2!  How is this possible?!?  Well, time flies when you're having fun.  We had a great time taking her to Navy Pier and all about the city for her birthday.  The Sunday previous was Father's Day, and she shared Jeff's day and my Dad's day and we had cake and swam in the pool alllllllll day.  My Aunt and Uncle and Auntie Mandy were even able to come and hang with us.  It was a nice relaxing day.  And that Saturday we went to the zoo with Uncle Helmut and Aunt Lee, Emma and Uncle Tony and Lukas and Jacob.  She had a great time at the zoo.  And grandma and grandpa bought us memberships to the zoo for her birthday because they heard how  much she liked it....which is awesome!

I finally turned in the Harry Potter swap box to Stephanie in Kansas, with a bit of confusion on her address.  But I think she liked it.  I sure was proud of the work I put into it, even though I had to turn it in a few days late, just didn't have enough time.

The box I got from Xa in Iowa is AMAZING!!!!!  I can't even tell you....

And as of late I've been spinning yarn.  How addicting is this?  It's awesomely addicting.  I can do it and watch Caim or somewhat pay attention to the TV.  I've been getting better, but I have produced my first skein!  It's all due to the Tour de Fleece....which is a take on the Tour de France that's going on right now.  We push ourselves to spin along with the timeline that the bicyclists take.  And I've been pushing along and learning.  And that's what it's all about for me.  Giving me incentive because there's a prize drawing every day.  So I'm pushing along....any chance to win something and I'm in!

Compassion

Well....I have been part of my swaps for a little bit now.  If you read this blog, you know that.  If you know me in person, especially at work and on the weekends, you know that I'm spending a lot of time knitting and crafting whenever I can.

What I've also done is RAKs (Random Acts of Kindness).  I have heard of some people who have had some troubles, which we all do, of course....but if I knew you in person and would do something for you, why would I not extend my hand to you if you are far away and we only know each other through a fabulous knitting and crochet community website?  I would.  That's what I do.

So a woman talked about her son, a young boy, who just got put on the kidney transplant list.  Now, I know there are better things in the world, and worse things as well.  But you know when someone just speaks to you?  Well, that she did.  So I got her yarn from Rebel Yarns on Etsy, which has some beautiful colors.  I did do a lot of searching before settling on this yarn.  But she had this one yarn which was gorgeous....it's name was also Hope.  How much more perfect could you get?  Through a little Rav-Stalking I know that she loves the colors...so this was perfect.  I couldn't go wrong.  Then some stitch markers, and  Gloria Patre on Etsy is a stitch marker queen.  There are lots, don't get me wrong....but these said "Love" and the 'o' is a heart.  How awesome is that?  And throw in a little green bead on there for our Slytherin Pride and you can't go wrong!  The thing is....compassion and giving begets compassion and giving.

I got a little gift myself from one of them because that person had had a hard day when my order came in and saw that I was doing something just because for someone else.  So she thought it nice to send me a little something in the package for my thoughtfulness.  And I will use it and love it.  But that's the thing, isn't it?  Why can't people just realize that if we are nice and compassionate....we don't always have to give stuff to other people, just our time and attention sometimes....that we will get it back in return?  Because we will.  And sometimes it doesn't seem like it.  But I have found the more I'm putting myself out there, the more I'm just giving, even if I maybe shouldn't be right now....it's coming back to me.  It's making me a happier, more content person anyway, and I need that.  I think we all do.  It's a blood pressure lowerer, makes us happy and smile, which you can never get enough of, and makes me calm and feel good about myself and who I am.

Now, I can't go on without saying that I have given and given to people, and there are just those takers in the world.  And I've learned my lesson time and time again.  And those people, unfortunately for them I feel, will not ever receive more kindness givings of my heart for nothing anymore.  But I wouldn't take away what I did in the past...because it's who I am.  And there's many more people in the world who can come in and take the place of the takers...I have no problem filling those vacancies.

Swaps, Swaps, Swaps

I have no time.  But I loooove knitting.  And I especially love knitting for Swaps!  I am in a...wait for it....Harry Potter swap!  I am so friggin excited, I can't even stand it.  In this swap, we have no clue who our spoiler is, the person sending to us.  We only know the person we're sending to.  So, right up my alley, I get to "stalk" the person in Ravelry and if she has a blog, blah, blah, blah to find out as much as I can about what she likes, dislikes, wants, can't stand, and come up with a totally made-especially-for-her swap box!  I have....no, I can't say who my spoilee is because who knows?  She could bustle around on the net and come across my  blog and wallah!  She would know.  That would be so sad.  Because I want to spoil her to death!  Well, not LITERALLY to death, but I want her to be so happy. 

And she's actually a fantastic knitter.  I am envious.  BUUUUT many people said in the swap, as long as it's for them, they don't care if it's not necessarily up to their knitting "standards" I guess is the only way to put it, or their level maybe?  That it's just made for them and you put your heart into it is all they ask.  Which is what I ask.  But being a new knitter, only a year and a half, I have some self-esteem issues with that, that's okay.  I'm allowed.  But I'm over it.  I'm soooo excited with what I have planned.  I just don't have enough time!  And I signed up for another swap, a "loomy exchange" for Mother's Day.  That one is much less intense, so I'm busting out on my project for that as I type.  I have one more thing to do at home for that and then some goodies to fill her box up with.  It's only a $6 limit, not including postage, and since I'm using all stash yarn and made my own pattern up to make the project and I have all the stuff to make the other little project that I'm adding to it, I have to go out and buy her some goodies to fill up that box!

And Elin from Sweden sent me her box and I have to post my pictures for you!  I loved it and she spoiled me!!!

Whole box of goodness!

Knitted little pouch, holding all my safety pins in my knitting bits and bobs bag.  A really cute had and a mug hug with a pocket for a tea bag on the side!

Ah-May-Zing teas locally from her.  Champagne and another one based off of a local legend of sorts and just yummy as can be!

Chocolates that I am eating right this second....and Oh My God, they are friggin gooooooood!

Me in the hat that Caim won't let me take off at home!

And this is actually the Easter basket that I did up for Caim for Easter.  Not from Elin ;)  You can't quite see all the little rhinestones and beads I put on, but I tried to do it up good for her!

Tea/Knit Swap Box

I can finally post this.  Elin in Sweden and I were partnered up through Ravelry, a knit/crochet community website, and we joined a Mad Hatters Tea Party Swap Box forum.  I shipped mine off last Tuesday, and she received it yesterday!  I was so excited that she loved it.  I worked hard to make sure it catered to her and what I thought she'd love.  I had so much fun knitting up the mug hug for her.  Although I used Bethany Dailey's Cabled Mug Hug as a jumping off point, I pretty much just made it my own and made it work for the mug I sent Elin.  I also made my first Scrubbie-O whilst doing this swap and I LOVE it!  I can't wait to make more....I have made 2 more so far, but I just want to keep making them!  I'll post some pics now of the box I sent her.  I'm so proud of it!  And I'm starting a smaller swap for the beginning of May with the Yahoo! Group Gettin' It Pegged, and I'm also part of a - wait for it- HARRY POTTER themed swap through the Odd Ducks Swap Group on Ravelry!  I'm BEYOND excited for that one!  Oooooh, I can't wait to do it!  But I won't find out my secret partner till the beginning of April, and I won't know who's sending to me either....so exciting!  I'll be posting pics of both those swaps when they're done and received by my respective swapees.  And I may even post when I receive Elin's box!  Hopefully I'll get it when I'm recovering this weekend from my knee surgery....which is this Friday the 23rd.  That would be a nice fun surprise!  All right, picture time!

Movies and Music

I love the feeling of listening to music from a movie, especially the ones that started out as books.  You can just absorb yourself into the music, picture the movie, picture the even-bigger detail of the book that goes along with that.  See the inspiration for the music that you're listening to. 

This is all prompted, of course, by the Hunger Games that is coming out on Friday.  But the album was released on iTunes and I am listening to it.....going through the harder songs, because I'm dealing with a raging migraine right now.  But I have to just say that I have never heard Jayme Dee....and I can't find anything else that she's sung....but the song on this album "Rules" is not only beautiful, but it just goes so deep into the book/movie that it's amazing.  I also like Taylor Swift's "Eyes Open", it's deep into it as well.  I can just picture Katniss sleeping in the trees during the games, staring at the sky, watching the Tribute's pictures above.  And that's just from the book.

It did take a while for me to like "Safe & Sound" by Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars.  Although I think a better fitting song for this movie overall is Metric's "Blindness", but they didn't ask me.  But "Blindness" truly is a nice, overall theme of all three books, actually.  But they didn't use Metric, they went, it seems, in a much more mellow direction music wise.  I would have thought much more alternative as opposed to more Indie sounds, but as I'm listening, the Indie does fit nicely.  It was just surprising, is all, from the fast-paced, hard-edge the book has, especially during the games.

But they did introduce me to The Civil Wars....which is a fantastic duo.  I got their CD and I love them.  Love their feel and their sound. 

Anyway, that's my take.  I say it's a great album to get, though.  Worth the money. 

I do feel the same way about the Twilight Series movies, although there's a few choices it took a while to get used to and some I just absolutely dislike.  But overall, I think the tone of their CDs fit the books completely as well as the movies they were made for.  And of course, Harry Potter.  But those are Classical music and just go sooooo well, that they need no explanation.  You listen to a few chords and you know exactly where you are in the movie, taking you to that portion, pulling you into it.

It's a lovely feeling, being absorbed by music.  Any music, for that matter.  But when you can put it into actual words/pictures from that movie reel that runs in your brain from a book you read....amazing.

Mr. Wobbles is complete...and some other stuff.

So my Mr. Wobbles is all done!  I'm so proud of him.  I've got a pic of him completed and of my little girl holding him and not letting go.

I had a few snafus along the way, but it was good.  Overall it was an easy stitch and not difficult, but-for the fact that I can't always read and had to frog a few things and re-do them.  But I'm very proud of my penguin!  And Caim seems to love him. 

Speaking of Caim, I have a very proud mom moment, she's 20 months, and she's asked 2 days in a row now to go 'boop' on the potty and she's pooped!  How fabulous is that!  Now, it's not for me, it's for the sitter, but I hope it will keep up with me through tomorrow when I'm off and through this weekend, and into forever!  I know this is only the beginning, but it's a pretty damn good beginning if you ask me!

And I don't want to keep going on about this, but why do people have to talk about people behind their backs?  Why can't people just be real, not fake, and just cordial and try to get along?  I mean, you pretend you like someone and you're nice to them, kissing their ass, and then you go around talking about them?  And then I am thinking that people are talking about me behind my back.  Why?  Because I have a different opinion?  DON'T kiss the ass of someone I don't like?  Because I stick up for myself and my friends?  Because I believe I'm entitled to my own opinion?  I thought friendships ran deeper than stupid shit at work and that stupid shit at work could be put aside.    I try to be a goodhearted person and feel that I'm pretty genuine.  

I am not badmouthing and really haven't, just disappointed and aggravated with people's attitudes.  True colors have shown....and they're not pretty.  Not pretty at all.  Not many people have a rainbow.  I'm not saying I do, but I'm proud of myself and how I've handled myself through this whole work mess.  And if people have issues with me?  What else is new.  I went a lot of years with not many friends at all.  And I value the friendships I have and will keep them and fight for them.  As long as they're willing to fight for the friendship also and we are not swayed by bullies or instigators, then I'll be okay with where I'm at in life and what company I keep.  I will not be happy with the losses of other friendships.  But I'm not going to fight a losing battle or try to keep a sinking friendship afloat.  I have more important things in life than to be the only one working on what's supposed to be two-sided friendship.  So now, until the next time, which hopefully will not be fraught with work crap and bad attitudes.  It probably doesn't help that I am hormonal right now and am looking at the prospect of having another knee surgery....which I will find out if it's truly needed after tomorrow's MRI.  News to come on that front.

Friendships

You know, you never truly know how much you care about someone as a friend until you see them troubled, crying, upset, whatever....and you ache.  Your heart just aches and breaks to see them that way.  I mean, we've all had times when we get upset with people.  It's a matter of acknowledging that they matter, their feelings matter, they as a person matter.  We've all felt like nothing.  Been treated like shit and down in the dumps and hoping someone will stick up for us or acknowledge we are a worthwhile human being.

Well, I will stick up for my friends until the end of the earth.  And if it causes another argument because I stand up for them?  So be it.  But dammit, no one deserves to be treated like crap.  No one deserves to be attacked.  We are adults.  We should not attack first, ask questions later, 'crap' apologize even later.  We should think first, respect someone, and agree to disagree.  Easier said than done.  And I know people who have not learned this lesson who are two times my age and people who have learned this lesson who are younger than I.  But it remains the same, we have to learn it.  And I learned it, a long time ago.  It took a while to hold in my filter and be calm about it, but it happened.  And I may be 31 and people may disagree and don't think I have a freakin' clue.  But I do.  And let me tell you, folks, this is not 3rd grade and we should fucking respect each other.

And if you are one of the true friends I have in my life, of which there are a few, I will do whatever I can to make sure that someone isn't treating you like shit, whether to your face or not.  And I will, and do, hurt for you when you hurt.  God, do I hurt.  And my heart is aching.  And I wish I could do more.  But I can't.  I can only defend, hug, love, and hope that if you need me, you will come to me.....I will always be there.

Mr. Wobbles!

Reblogged from Bethany Dailey's Blog, Gettin' It Pegged about our Loom-A-Long
http://gettinitpegged.com/2012/01/27/mr-wobbles-penguin-wants-to-come-live-with-you/


I am so excited to be working on this guy!  I'm actually, on another loom, in the midst of working on Koby the Striped Kitty for Caim.  But this LAL is for Mr. Wobbles the Penguin.  I'll post a pic of him when I'm done, I'm only on the body, the tail portion, right  now, just at the beginning.  So it could be a little while, time permitting.  But now that I've picked him up and using that new Lion Brand Luxe Fur to knit him up with, I'm excited, because he's knitting up beautifully!  There's a little 'snag', actually it's a tear, I broke the yarn last night, wrapped it juuuuuust a little too tight.  But that's okay.  I'll tie up the ends when I've completed the body and hopefully all will be well.  Mr. Wobbles will be seeing you soon!

New Beginnings

It's been too long.  But it's a new year, new things happening at work and hopefully in life.  We're all getting to the end of being sick, hopefully.  Caim and I spent most of January being sick.  Now, Jeff and other family members are sick.  Let's hope this comes to an end SOON.

I want things to be good with people.  We're all adults.  Can't we all get along and TRY to respect each other in this trying time?  Work is getting an overhaul.  I'm looking at the positive of that.  This will be a good thing.  But I also hope that the crap happening in the work place doesn't tear apart friendships that SHOULD mean more than that, go deeper than "work stuff".  So that's all I am going to say on that.  It's been saturating us all at work and I'm hoping it's all at an end.

On a side note, I LOVE Lush.  Anyone else?  Of course there are.  I try to convert as many people as I can.   Should get a commission for all the business I've sent their way.  But apparently I am not the only one who absolutely LOVED their Jumping Juniper solid shampoo and it's been a Retro product for YEARS (means that you can only buy it online, they just make batches of it every so often and sell them online only, not enough demand, or better things came about, blah, blah, blah).  But I went to the store on Monday and lo and behold....BAM!  There it is!  So apparently it wasn't in as low demand as they though and I've been getting it online as a Retro product for at least 4 years now.  So it took a while, but apparently dedication and persistence prevails!

And on a last note, I got the Groupon for the Bleeding Heart Bakery (who has my favorite Veruca Salt cupcakes) and it's for their Cake Bombs.  Sounds interesting!  I'll let you know what they're like!