Quick Update

I think about updating this everyday on my drive to and from work and during lunch, but never seem to push myself to do it when I get home at night. So, I figured that as long as I was thinking about it while on lunch, that I would do a quick update. Yeah!

I finished one of two baby blankets for the twins. Here is the first one...



It's not quite as dark as it looks in the picture, but it's the best picture I have. The second one is about halfway done. I took the advice of my buddies over at Fiber Freaks and am making the second blankie in the same pattern, but reversed colors. I hope Jess doesn't freak about it being mostly white. I had mentioned that as a concern, and they all said that it's going to be washed everyday no matter what the color. If she has a fit, I'll just have to make another one, I guess. The blankies are made with TLC Amore and they are so very warm and snuggly! Thinking I may have to make an adult sized one for myself. lol.

Other finished projects? More dishcloths...


And a scarf using broomstick lace...


WIPs include the second blankie which I don't have a picture of, a second French Market bag which I don't have a picture of, and a pair of socks...


I've gotten a bit farther on the socks since the picture was taken, but not much.

In other news, our plans for going to Wisconsin have been finalized! We have our plane tickets, we have guanentee's from work that we have days off that we need, and as of last night, we have our costumes! I'm so very excited. Kyle is going as Jack Skelington, and I'm going as the Wicket Witch of the West. I'm so thrilled with this costume. Though it barely fits. Guess that means no more eating out for me! And that excercising I've been "planning" on doing is actually going to have to get done. I just love halloween. So much fun to be able to dress up as something that you always wanted to be or in my case, as my parents would say, a chance to show your true self. lol. Tell me what you think of the costume...

One of these days I'll actually get around to updating my links in my sidebar and whatnot too. Right now I have to eat. My stomach feels like it's going to start devouring itself! Then again, that my not be a bad thing. lol.

Just for Fun

Actualy posting to come later...

Found these through Kimberly. Apparently we are amazingly alike...

You Are Guinness

You know beer well, and you'll only drink the best beers in the world. Watered down beers disgust you, as do the people who drink them. When you drink, you tend to become a bit of a know it all - especially about subjects you don't know well. But your friends tolerate your drunken ways, because you introduce them to the best beers around.

What's Your Beer Personality?

What Color is Your Brain?

BLUE:

At work or in school: I like to be with people, sharing with them, inspiring them, and helping them. I work and learn best when I can take into consideration people and the human element. I flourish in an atmosphere of cooperation.
With friends: I always look for perfect love. I am very romantic, and I enjoy doing thoughtful things for others. I am affectionate, supportive and a good listener.
With family: I like to be happy and loving. I am very sensitive to rejection from my family and to family conflicts. I really like to be well thought of and need frequent reassurance. I love intimate talks and warm feelings.
Take this quiz!








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Your Haloween Costume Should Be

A Sexy Bunny

What Should You Be For Halloween?

You Are

An Evil Pumpkin Face You would make a good pumpkin bomb.

What's Your Pumpkin Face?

You Should Rule Mars

Mars is a planet that shines brightly and loops wildly around the solar system. You are perfect to rule Mars, because you are both energetic and independent. Like Mars, you seems attractive and bright to others - but you're difficult to pin down. You are a great thinker, but you only think in the present and ignore the future. Full of enthusiasm and inspiration, you are into your own thing... and rather insensitive to others.

What Planet Should You Rule?

You Are The Stuffing

You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together. People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

What kind of knitting needles are you?

You are interchangeable.Fun, free, and into everything, you've got every eventuality covered and every opportunity just has to be taken. Every fiber is wonderful, and every day is a new beginning. You are good at so many things, it's amazing, but you can easily lose your place and forget to show up. They have row counters for people like you!
Take this quiz!








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Wisconsin Here We Come?

Well, maybe! Hubby and I have been invited to a Halloween part in Milwaukee by some of the guys we play WOW with. We both agree that it would be a great way to meet everyone in person PLUS if we can go up for a few days we can even go see my family! How fun would that be? I called my boss when I was out of town last week, just to check the schedule for the last Monday and Tuesday of the month, and she actually put me down for two vacation days. Woohoo! And Kyle thinks he can get that weekend of the party off as well. So, we're good to go there. The only problem is finding the money for plane tickets. Sigh. We can get a good deal on Southwest, but that would involve driving up from Chicago. And while usually I don't mind, I'm going to be travelling so much between now and then that I'm more than likely not going to want to spend another 3 hours in the car after the flight. Too bad I don't have any free flights yet!

On the crafty front, I finished my third garterlac last night. Still don't have pictures, but did finish it! Worked a coule of more rounds on my sock until I started to fall asleep, then started on my first baby blanket this morning while waiting for my carpool to come out of the house. The yarn I picked for the blankets is kind of a pain, but it's going to be so warm and snuggly when it's done! I think I'll work on that today while waiting to get my blood drawn on lunch break. Give myself a little break from knitting. Of course, I also have my sock with me, as well as needles and yarn for another garterlac in case I get bored with afghan. lol. I'm horrible.

Adult ADD?

Anyone have it? I think i do. I've been really into those Garterlac discloths lately - even bought a pound cone of yarn to make them! I have managed to make 2.5 so far and am addicted to the pattern. So, I went to Hobby Lobby last night to check out baby stuff (need to get started on making stuff for nephews) and I bought even MORE yarn for dishcloths. The plan was to finish the one I was working on, maybe make one more, then get started on the first of two baby afghans when I got home. So what did I do last night? I taught myself to use dpn's and started a sock. Go figure. What happened to the dishcloth addiction? And finishing my current project? No wonder I have so many WIPs that need finishing. Maybe I can force myself to finish the one discloth before continuing on the sock. And take some pictures.

I get to go to Grand Chenier Louisiana next week for work. My doctor will probably have a hissy fit since I came back from West Texas last week with a blood clot. But, I figure, I'll be on blood thinners, so shouldn't be so much of a risk, right? Been giving myself shots all week and if you looked at my belly you would think I was some kind of weird drug user. Thankfully I do the last one tonight. Tomorrow I get to get poked one last time for the week and have some blood work done up. Some to check the levels of blood thinners in my blood stream, and a whole slew of tests to make sure my blood is actually ok since this is the second time I've had a blood clot. Should be tons of fun! Then I get to go see the doctor on Saturday to get results and break the news of my travel schedule. I think I will be in the office for one entire week until the beginning of November. She won't be happy. And neither will Kyle. But, what can one do? Gotta earn money somehow!

Ok, need to find work now. Here's another picture from Aruba to amuse you...


Just one of the many friends we made on our hotels private island.

As promised...

A picture of my entrelac dishcloth! It's big, and wonky, but I'm proud of it! I'm about halfway done with my second one, but haven't been able to work on it as I've been in west Texas and haven't had the time. Sigh. Oh well.




Wow! My picture actually uploaded this time! Nice.





I finished painting this past weekend. I'm very happy with the color, but I think I'm going to have to do a second coat. I took some pictures, and of course, the colors didn't turn out completely right, but it's close! So here are some pictures. Please ignore the fact that there's furniture, cat furniture, and other things kind of scattered about. I didn't have a chance to put everything back where it belonged yet, which I guess is a good thing because it's going to have to be moved again anyways for the second coat. Let me know what you think!

My entry way (that chair belongs upstairs in the game room, but actually matches the paint rather well! lol)

My formal living room. Eventually that cat tree, sewing machine cabinet, and ab roller will be out of the middle of it...

and last but not least, the back wall of the dining room. Matches the chairs rather well, does it not? I'm so happy to finally get the chance to put some color on the walls. It makes my house feel warmer to me.

Alright - it's getting close to bedtime. Tomorrow is going to be an extremely long day in the field and I need my beauty rest! Hopefully I'll get the chance to post again soon! And there might even be a pleasant surprise for some of you...

Past few weeks...

well, the weeks since i last posted haven't exactly been the best weeks for me. my new laptop blew out two power cords. had to take it back to best buy where they said it sounded like a grounding problem. they weren't even going to turn the computer on because "that's how fires start". nice. so, they took my word for it and exachanged computers without any questions. i guess that was good. that weekend i went out to dallas with izzy for stephanies birthday. she wanted to do a mary kay makeover party and then go out. we had a great time, it was good to see steph (as always) and great to see her sisters again (who i haven't seen since she got married almost 10 years ago) and meet some new people. only problem is i've felt like i've had a hangover ever since. and i didn't drink. go figure. then, last week, i broke my toe. if you haven't done it already, take my advice - don't. it hurts. bad. thankfully i haven't had any field work to do since. it is now finally getting better though. it's not nearly as swollen and it doesn't hurt as much. just looks bad. then, yesterday, i started getting sick. couldn't keep food down. had to go home from work early. and, of course, i carpooled, so in order to do that, kyle had to come pick me up. he wasn't too happy. i stayed home today too, but haven't thrown up since around 10. very good. maybe i'll get to go back to work tomorrow.

on the good side of things, kyle and i agreed on a color to paint the front living room, dining room, and entryway. so, while he worked over the long weekend, i was out shopping and to lunch and the movies with the girls on saturday, and spent sunday and monday (our 2 year anniversary) painting. woohoo! and the color looks good! i'm thrilled. i need to go out and get more blue tape though, so i can finish. let's see, what else was good? oh yeah. i finished an enterlac dishcloth! woohoo! didn't think i could, but once i understood the pattern it was easy peasy. it turned out huge, and a bit wonky, but i'm still excited! i'm working on another one right now with smaller needles. i'll get a picture of them when i finish the second one. and the last bit of good news? kyle and i installed our very first fan! only took us two years to find one that it perfect for the bedroom. lol. but, we did find it, and we installed it last night. well, kyle installed it, but i helped! i can't tell you how nice it feels to finally have a fan in there! now we just need to find them for the rest of the house. it will really help with that $250 electric bill!

ok, so i just realized how very unamusing this post has been... i'll just have to make it up to you by posting a picture from aruba. this one is one of my favorites and the view from our hotel room. grrrr. will someone tell me why my picture isn't uploading? i've tried three times already! i guess i'll post the picture as soon as i can figure out why it won't upload and fix the issue.



(apparently i can cut and paste html code from a previous post and change the photo name. woohoo!)

So last Friday, I got home from work to find that Kyle had bought me a laptop. He had decided that I needed a computer that was good enough to play WOW on that I can bring with me when I travel for work. That way, when I am done for the night, we can hook up online and play. So, when I was in Waco this past week, I had all intentions to sit down when I got to my hotel room, post on this blog, and then play. But, my intentions weren't good enough. For some reason, after starting work at 6:30 in the morning, working in up to 106 degree heat all day, and returning to the hotel at about 8 or 8:30, I was a bit exhausted. I managed to turn the computer on long enough to check email, and that was all. I was out. So, it may take me a little while to catch up. But, you'll survive, right?

So, I'm going to be an Auntie for the first time! We're very excited. And, we found out about a week ago that I'm not just getting 1 nephew, I'm getting 2! Yes, she's having twin boys! I think my mom had an aunt that had twins, but that's about the history of twins in our family. There's no history in her hubby's family. Can't quite figure out where they came from. lol. Boy, is she going to have her hands full! I think I may treat myself to a trip to Hobby Lobby today to check out baby patterns and yarn. Get back to working with fiber. I miss it so much! If any of you know of anything I should make for the boys, let me know!

Do I have any readers left?

ok, so i've been bad. i've been very bad. i haven't blogged or spent any time reading blogs, or visted my favorite crochet boards since the end of may. i can't even access DoD anymore because of it either. oh well. it seems the same things went down there that went down at the ville, and i just don't want to deal with that kind of crud.

so, lots of things have happened, but i won't spend an hour here tonight writing everything out in one post. that way you won't have to spend an hour reading everything in one post either. i'll spread it out over a couple of days. i'll start off by saying that working at Chico's wasn't good for me. the hours sucked. the pay sucked. and i got a bit depressed always wondering why i was stuck working retail with a college degree. so, when i got home from work, and on my days off, i didn't want to do anything. i didn't crochet, i didn't knit, and i had cancelled WOW because i wasn't playing that either. i was either spaced out in front of the tv, sleeping all day, or reading. at least i was reading. i actually went through quite a few books - mainly because that was my way of escape from what my life had turned into. i do have to say, though, that my hubby was a saint through it all. he even supported me when i decided to start trying my hand selling mary kay. by the way, if you want /need any, check out my website at www.marykay.com/jennymoore.

anyways, shortly after i started mary kay to earn some extra money (and to get my products at a discount) I received an offer letter from Retec (the company i interviewed for in austin). and they wanted me to start after our vacation to aruba. of course, i accepted tie job. yeah! and so far am loving it.

but, i'll get more into the job, and aruba (including pictures) at a later date. kyle needs to set his fantasy football team for his work...

Exhaustion Sets In

Well, after working at Chico's for 5 days, the exhaustion has finally sank in. My back and feet are killing me, and I'm at the point that I don't want to do ANYTHING! That includes email, blogging, and even crocheting. I just want to sit in the bath and go to sleep. Two more days of this and I have two days off. Woohoo!

I did have some good things happen this week, though. I went to my neighbors Mary Kay meeting on Wednesday night and won a $200.00 drawing. I was so incredibly excited! I never, and I mean NEVER, win anything! That money is going straight into savings for Aruba (well, actually, it bought me some new clothes - but daddy was sending me money for new clothes so THAT is going into savings for Aruba lol). Go me! I also got a call last night from TCEQ (Texas Center for Environmental Quality - or something like that) wanting me to interview for a position with them on May 30. Of course, I accepted! They're the regulators of the consulting firms. And it's a government job so that means excellent benefits! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I get it. Sad that I would have to give up Chico's though. Maybe they'll work with me and let me bump down to part time... Let's see, what else? Oh yeah. I FINALLY got 1 of my 2 medical reimbursements in the mail today, so I'm another $250 richer! woohoo! Debating whether or not I want to put that in savings for Aruba too, or treat myself to a pair of MTBs (http://www.mbt-uk.com/) for work. They're really expensive, but if they make the foot and back pain go away, they'll be worth it! Of course, I really should wait and see if I get that TCEQ job first - because that would entail a lot of sitting...

Anyways, that's all I know for now! Kyle should be getting off work any minute and I'm going to need to start making dinner. And pay attention to the doggies. And maybe work a bit on my serepina shawl that I'm doing in a laceweight wool yarn. Insane? Yes, I know.

Exchange Bag

Well, the Exchange Bag from The Happy Hooker is done! It was hard to get a good picture of it do to the coloration of the cord, though. These are the best I got. Now, to find my next project.

When Good Dogs Go Bad

You know how I just told you about working on that Exchange Bag? Well, I was making decent progress for the amount of time working on it, and I was working on it some more downstairs with the dogs running around while Kyle was upstairs playing his game. Well, I decided I needed to do something real quick upstairs, so I left the dogs downstairs alone. Mistake. Should have locked them outside, but I thought "it's only going to be a few minutes, and they're eating - they'll be good." Couldn't have been more wrong. Kyle went downstairs before I did - he finally decided to go get his Texas drivers license (we've only been here for a year and a half) so he was going to shower. All of a sudden I heard him yell at Smudge. Uh oh. Then he told me I better get downstairs - oh, and bring the camera. BIG uh oh. This is what I found...

Wait, is that my Exchange bag?


It sure is! And look, the cord goes out the doggie door...








And all around the porch...













And in the grass...









And back on the porch... And apparently I can't upload any more pictures, but it went from there, back into the doggie door, back out the doggie door, and then around the post. I had to laugh. Then, it turns out that Kyle was yelling at Smudge because she was chewing on my wooden crochet hook. The one his grandmother gave me. Rendering it now useless :( The good news through all this was my project itself didn't get unravelled. The bad news is I had to unravel it myself because my aluminum crochet hook was 0.25 mm smaller than my wood one. And while it doesn't sound like a big difference, it actually is. I could have killed those dogs. Still hoping to have the bag done this weekend though! Guess I better get to work for that to happen.

Stitch N Bitch

So, I finally broke down and bought "Stitch N Bitch, The Happy Hooker" the other day. I had a 30% off one item coupon and a 10% off entire order all day shopping spree from Borders. I couldn't resist. I wanted it only for the Sweet Pea shawl that everyone else was making, but by the time I sat down to look through the rest of it, I had a million and one projects that I wanted to do! And the book itself is hilarious. Now all I need is Stitch N Bitch Nation and my collection is complete! But, I digress. Kyle got a new computer game that day too - Civilization 4 - so after we got home, he sat in front of his computer, trying to figure out the game, and I sat in front of my stash with my book, trying to find enough yarn to do a project. But, unfortunately, most of my stash is Red Heart for making afghans. I do have quite a bit of homespun I received from my MIL (mother-in-law), but that's going to be an afghan too. Oh, and I had enough wool to make some stuff, but I'm saving that for Elizabeth's Lucinda Bag once she finally sells the pattern! So, I'm thinking I'm going to be SOL until I see the Exchange Bag, and realize that I have exactly two rolls of that cord (I forget the name of the stuff off the top of my head, and it's already downstairs)! Now, I gotta say, I can't remember when I bought it, or why. It's been just sitting there for years - like, at least 4. Guess I knew 4 years ago that I wanted to make this bag! That stuff is a pain in the you know where to work with though... Hoping to have it done this weekend.

Curiosity Killed the Cat

...or tried to, at least. I have begun brushing Boog Boogs on a daily basis and collecting his hair for spinning. I had a convenient Hobby Lobby bag and put it in there. About 10 minutes after I hear a weird rustling noise. I turned around and saw this...

Notice the "Help me momma" plea in his eyes? Or is that a "Leave me the hell alone" look?

Yes, that Hobby Lobby bag was wrapped nicely around his neck. Gotta wonder how he got himself into that situation! Good thing I was in the room. That boy sheds a lot and I would hate to have had to run around the house trying to pick up all the hair I had collected!

Ugh, cats...

Pet Hair

So, after trying so very hard to keep all the pet hair off of my project for Lani, without success, i spent a good couple of hours trying to get it off. I'm pretty sure that I didn't get it all though, and for that, I apologize.

Anyways, I was wondering around on the web today and saw articles about people spinning the hair from their pets into yarn, and I got to thinking... The dog hairs are too short, but Boog Boogs hair (which is everywhere) would be perfect for the task! So, I got out the kitty brush and sat with him for about an hour. It's amazing how much hair I got! By the time I can afford to buy the carding paddles and drop spindle (want to buy a spinning wheel, but too expensive) to make some yarn, I will have enough hairs for a sweater! Well, I won't be making a sweater, but will have plenty to make something. Maybe some slippers? I've been wanting to spin for a while now, and this gives me the reason to do it. I learned at Rennaissance Faire when I worked there years ago, so I think I'll be able to do it again without too many problems, right? What do you think? Would Boog Boogs make a cute pair of slippers?

Well, I did it...

I called Chico's today to tell them that I wasn't able to take the job, and now, I start Monday! Can someone tell me how that works? Actually, I asked her some more questions about the bonuses and incentives, and possible overtime, and she pretty much gave me all the right answers. One of them being that if her current full time cashier was having a bad month, she was walking away with an addition $400. Not too shabby eh? And they're changing some things around as well where if they have three cashiers on, and only need 2 to be open, then the full timer (which would be me) would go out to the sales floor - which means more bonuses. Not to mention training in sales. I told Kyle about it and he seems really excited. And who knows, maybe in 6 months I'll be a manager. Or, maybe I will finally find a job in my field now that I'm actually working again! Wouldn't that be nice?

Kyle also mentioned that he's going to start training for floor manager. Which means an increase in pay for. That would be nice too. Plus, their floor managers still qualify for the bonuses as well. Even better. And, his store manager anticipates them getting their full bonuses this year. So, maybe we'll be ok. Maybe I can just enjoy working at Chico's, go back to school, do something new. I was getting tired of what I was doing anyways. My ego is just killing me - having a college degree and working retail. Oh well. I'm sure I'll get over it.

Ugh

Ok, so I just sat down and figured out bills and the budget and stuff, and if I were to take this job, it would leave us $750 short. Yikes! If we were to get all the bonuses Kyle and I are eligible for, we'd be fine, with money leftover to spare. BUT, there's no guarentees on those bonuses. And if we have a month without them, we're screwed. Grrrr. I so want to take this job! If only to help keep my sanity in check! Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that's going to happen for me. :(

To Work? or not to Work?

Well, Chico's offered me a full time cashiers position this morning and has given me til tomorrow afternoon to decide if I want to take it or not. I don't know what to do. The pay would be equal to my unemployment, minus taxes. 50% discount off clothing, full benefits after 90 days... It would get me out of the house, and help me emotionally, BUT, would have to pay for gas and leave us short on bills. What should I do?

Good News!

Well, I don't have a job yet, but have heard a vicious rumor that someone is going to call me for an interview. Yeah!

I also have a finished project. Finally! Only took a couple of months, and an entire weekend of weaving in ends and sewing pieces together, but it's done. And in the mail on it's way to my secret pal. I hope she likes it! What do you think?





It was hard for me to let go.

Phone Call

So, I receieved a phone call the other day from the Program Chemist that works at my old company. I answered the phone and heard "Project bring Jennifer back is in full swing" Ok, tell me more.... Apparently, I should expect a phone call from the company, but they may ask me if I'm willing to re-locate. And Christelle just wanted to give me the heads up so I can prepare. Well, haven't heard from the company as of yet. In a way I guess that's good, though, as I don't know what to say about the whole relocation thing. I mean, I don't want to say no outright (though that is my answer) because I don't want that to go against me, but I don't want to say yes either because then I would have to relocate! Which moving to the east coast wouldn't be so bad, if that's where they would want me to move, but, Kyle is really happy with his job here, and we have a house! We have a house that is only a year and a half old! And who knows if we would even be able to get a house somewhere else? What I am really hoping for is to be based out of a different office, but working out of the San Antonio one and travelling. Or working out of the house and travelling. Wish me luck with that phone call, if it does indeed happen, as I will be needing it!

Other then that, there's really no new news. Been working hard on my reveal package for my SP. Packages are to go out on May 1st. Guess I should check the board and see if there's any good swaps coming up. Life just doesn't seem right if I'm not stressing about finishing up some project and getting it in the mail in time! Lol.

Stress

Yes, I know, it's been a month since I've posted. And I have no job, so you would think I would be posting all the time! But, the fact is, I really have nothing to say! Life has been pretty uneventful lately. Been spending a lot of my time searching for jobs and playing games. I have had one interview, which I should hear back from this week, and one other lead that has a job posting in a week. Will just have to wait and see how things turn out, I guess.

I have gotten some knitting and crocheting done. Getting ready to send out a package to my secret pal. Hope she enjoys it. It's hard not getting to spoil her like I would like. I just hope my handmade project in my reveal package makes up for it! I think I will probably spend today working on it. If I don't get my butt in gear, and get off this computer, it will never get finished!

Mom and Dad are off on yet another cruise to the Caribbean. I'm so jealous. And they just got back from Hawaii on Thurs. Not fair at all! Sounds like a lot of fun was had in Hawaii too. They planned a trip so that all my mother's brothers and sisters (and husbands and wives) would meet up in Hawaii and have a family reuinion. How cool is that? Turns out my Aunt Sharon vacations like my sister - always where are we going? come on, let's go! lol. In a way, I'm kind of glad I didn't go!

Aruba is coming up fast. And hear I am not losing weight! It's all I can do right now to keep myself from eating all day when I'm home. I guess it's good that I'm not gaining it, but I really want to feel comfy in a swimsuit! Grrrr. Need to excercise more. I no longer have the excuse that I have no time. Now it's just plain laziness and lack of energy.

Anyways, that's about it for my life this past month! Maybe now that I've posted I will feel more like keeping up with that and emails. We'll just have to wait and see...

Free Time

Yes, you heard it, I have free time. As of Monday, March 6, I no longer have a job. But, before you feel sorry for me, I feel as if a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders! Sure, I have no money, but I no longer have to deal with people treating with disrespect and acting as if I'm a child who knows nothing and is not capable of doing anything by herself. It all came down on me after complaining to HR about how I was treated. Coincidnece? I think not. So, I've been spending the past couple of days searching for a new job and crocheting! If anyone has any leads, please let me know!

My PG exam is finally done and over with. The first test seemed pretty easy, and I was done relatively fast - I was the second one to finish. The second test was a totally different story...I pulled a lot of answers out of my booty - meaning I guessed. A lot. BUT, I talked to someone afterwards that had more experience than me saying the same thing. So, I know it was the test, not me. My gut feeling is that I passed the first one,and will be re-taking the second one in October. Oh well. At least I have an idea of what to expect now, right?

Well, I guess it's back to the job hunt! Maybe I'll take the opportunity to get out of the environmental field and do something new!

It's just about time...

To pack up and head for Austin. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my exam is bright and early tomorrow morning, and I'm really getting nervous! Kyle will be home in an hour, and we'll be going to dinner and heading north. I took some practice exams today and while I did better on them then I thought I would, I didn't do as good as I would have liked. I wonder how hard grading is going to be...

Anyways, I need to make sure that I have all the supplies I need, and go pack my overnight bag. Wish me luck!

Nao Time

Boogs and I took a nap today on our new couch, under the afghan I made for Kyle a while back. Aren't we cute?

Secret Pals

The DC secret pals has officially began! And boy was my secret to me pal fast in responding! Thank for the comments secret to me pal! I look forward to getting to know you too!

What a fun day

So, I drove home from San Angelo yesterday with my eye starting to burn a bit. Thought I may have scratched it, so as soon as I got home, I took my contacts out. By the time I went to bed, my eye was bright red, swollen, and watery. And it hurt when I had my eyes open, and it hurt when I had my eyes closed. So much for getting a decent night's sleep! Woke up this morning and couldn't open it real well, it was ultra sensitive to the light. Forget this! I'm going to the eye doctor. Ask Kyle if he would drive me, as I couldn't see properly and he almost convinced me not to go - it was only a scratch and it would get better. BUT, I'm supposed to be studying today, and I can't read. So, off we went. Apparently, I have an ulcer in the center of my eye. If not taken care of, it could have scarred and I would have permanently lost some of my vision. Not good. Glad I went now. Course, today is still going to suck because now my eye is dilated and will be for 8 hours. So, I still can't read all that well, and my eye is still ultra sensitive to the light. Oh, and I have to put eye drops in every 15 minutes for the next 24 hours. Thankfully, she is going to allow me to sleep tonight, but if I wake up in the middle of the night I have to put more eye drops in. And these puppies burn! Now I'm really stressing about this test! I guess I'm going to just have to do the best I can under the circumstances.

Update on Uncle Steve - The doctors ran some tests on Monday to check out his heart. One side was 80% blocked and they had to put a stint in. The other side was only 50% blocked, and they think that side will work just fine. If it gets worse, then they'll do something about it. And I think he had some tearing or something like that, but they said that should heal itself within the next 4 weeks. So, he's doing much better, and he is home now! Woohoo! Glad you're feeling better Steve!

Boog Boogs

Well, it has come to my attention that I have no pictures of my mischievious kitty cat, Oogie Boogie (aka Boog Boogs) on my blog. So, here is a couple! I think most of the pictures I have of him were downloaded on my work computer...



This one is when he was a baby after we took him home from the shelter. Should have known from the start he would be evil...


Here he is helping me unpack a package from my Summer SP.


Hmmm, what is this?


And my little sweetie trying to help me untangle that yarn that he helped tangle in the first place!

I'll have to get some more pictures of him soon. I can't believe I was such a bad mom!

Update on Life

Life has been so hectic lately, and I finally have the chance to settle down after Friday and do some relaxing, so, what do I do? I sign up for another round of Secret Pals at Crochetville! Woohoo! I can't wait to see who my pal is going to be so I can start spoiling him/her.

Work, of course, is still going to be stressful. I actually talked to the head of HR yesterday because my senior geologist and project manager are treating me with disrespect. I actually got told that passing my PG exam on Friday was not important, and that if I didn't know my information for the exam by now, I wasn't going to know it. Oh, and that I was being childish for needing to study instead of work (I was told I could have the weekend off in the beginning of January and they decided on Friday that I needed to work on Sunday with my senior geologist just watching me)and I needed to control my anxiety attacks (of which I had a 5 hour one on Saturday and still went to bed with my heart pounding). Nice, huh? And it didn't help that my Uncle Steve had a heart attack Friday morning due to a blood clot in his heart. I was livid. I also forgot to mention that my annual evaluation was originally scheduled for last Thursday (because I was going to be out all week this week) and my PM re-scheduled it for Friday afternoon. I was in the field Friday morning and when I came into the office at lunch, my PM was gone. Went golfing. Not to return. Didn't bother cancelling or re-scheduling my evaluation (guess no bonus or raise for me) and never bothered to return my phone calls either. Not good. So, HR talked to the VP at my office yesterday, and he said he would talk to my PM when he gets back in town on Friday. Of course, the VP and my PM are friends (they were golfing together on Friday) so I wouldn't be surprised if the talk never happened. I think I may need to start looking for a new job soon.

Kyle is also talking about getting a new job working for a promotions company. It would require a lot of travel, but he would have the opportunity to make a salary equal to our combined salaries right now in 6 months time. Therefore, I wouldn't have to work anymore. He said I could go get a job at my LYS. AND, he's now looking at RVs so that I could occasionally travel with him and we could bring the doggies. Course, he's looking at RV's that cost over $100,000.00. Gonna be a while before we can afford that one! Lol. It is pretty cool though.

Well, my right eye, back, and legs are killing me. I think it's about time for a nice relaxing bubble bath, and bed. Help me to prepare to go to physical therapy and study my booty off for my exam. I can't believe it's this Friday. AHHHHHHHHH!

It's done!

Well, I was weaving in ends as the closing ceremonies began, and just finished felting my bag and was taking pictures as the torch was extinguished. Talk about being close! Here it is in all it's glory - I think it actually looks kinda funky. Might have to try the pattern again when I'm a little more experienced...




Now it's off to bed I go. Have to get up before dawn to go walking with Jess so I can complain to her about work. Don't worry, I'll complain to you about work too - it just has to wait a little while. Maybe tomorrow evening when I am stuck in a hotel in San Angelos and need a study break.

Let the Games Begin!

The Knitting Olympics officially began last night. I was so excited that I just plopped myself down on my couch in front of the t.v. with the Opening Ceremonies and my needles. My French Market Bag is coming along nicely so far. I really like the yarn I picked out for the bag too. I think it's going to turn out great! Now, the problem is getting it done in time. Lol. I've been slacking in my studying for my PG exam, which is not good considering it's in less than a month. So, I really need to crack down on it. Wish me luck!

Thank You Fairy Godmother!

I received a package in the mail yesterday from a Fairy Godmother! I was so excited that I just ripped it open. And inside? Inside was the cutest soap holder hand made with yellow and white washclothes and a pretty flower to hang on the door of my guest bathroom. And it matches perfectly. Thank you Fairy Godmother!

First FO's of 2006!

Ok, I finally finished a couple of things this year. I finished the Marvelous Felted Mini Tote and a knitted Companion with wool yarn that Dawn sent me. Speaking of which, here's a picture of the goodies I got...



I love it all!

And a before picture of my mini tote...

And After...

And my Companion - first ever finished knitting project! Unfortunately, I don't have a before picture, but I'm so proud of it! I'm going to have to make another one out of that yellow and orange yarn I have...

Oh my goodness, Oh my goodness!

(yes, I watched Annie last night and that phrase is stuck in my head)

I received my package of wooly goodness from Dawn yesterday. Can you say spoiled? She sent me 7 balls of Wool of the Andes in Stream (from Knitpicks), 2 hanks of Shadow in Lost Lakes (also from Knitpicks) and 3 hanks (2 in Autumn, 1 in Citrus) from Hand Painted Yarns. She also included a copy of Crochet World magazine with the cutest purse pattern, the Marvelous Fulled Mini Tote pattern, a cute little Valentines notepad, a purse calendar from the office she works at, a very yummy Dark Orange Chocolate bar (which is already half gone) and a wonderful little note telling me her intentions for the yarn that she bought. Of course, she did tell me it was my yarn, and I could do whatever I wanted with it. But, I liked her ideas, and I already wanted to make that Mini Tote....so, I guess I'll go with her ideas! I just need to find a pattern to make with the Shadow - she suggested a lacy scarf. Anyone know any good lacy scarf patterns? I was so excited when I got the package that I didn't even take the time to come upstairs and post a thank you. I had to immediately start winding one hank of Autumn into a ball (by hand - really need a ball winder) and started on the mini tote. On round 17 of 25 already. Can't wait to finish and get it in the washer! It's looking so good!

I finally did decide to join the Knitter's Olympics, and signed up early last week. Have been really looking forward to starting on my French Market bag. The Olympics begins this coming Friday. I have told myself that I am only allowed to knit when I watch my shows that I always watch during the week. When I have no shows to watch, then I will be studying for my exam. On the weekends I'm limiting myself as well - Study 2 hours, take a half hour break, study 2 hours, take a half hour break...On my breaks I can either crochet, knit, or have computer time. That's it. Give my mind enough time for the information to sink in before I get back to studying.

I learned a valuble lesson yesterday - When I get emails about the monthly pug meetup, be sure to check out all the details. I swore in the title that it said we were meeting at 2 (instead of 4). So, I left at 1:30 and headed to the humane society. Idiots here in Texas decided to shut a major freeway down for construction on a Saturday, so didn't get there until 2:30. No one was there. Uhhhh. People at humane society told me it was at 4. Ok. My mind was apparently somewhere else. Usually the people that run the event are there early to set up. Decided to just hang out until then. 4:00 rolls around, and still no one there. At 4:30, one other pug owner shows up. We're thinking maybe the closed freeway is slowing everyone down? 5:00, still no one else. We decide to give up and go home. Came upstairs and checked my email - the event was at 1:00 and the Texas Cultures Center! Ugh! A wasted afternoon because I was too lazy to read the email! Won't ever do that again, now, will I? Already received an email for the March event, and it is, indeed, at the humane society again. Of course, that is when I was planning on having my Mary Kay spa day for Rosie....May have to either change the time, or do it Sunday....

Alright - enough procrastinating for me. Need to go eat breakfast and get to studying!

Unexpected Phone Call

So, I'm sitting at work yesterday, getting ready to go to lunch, when my phone rings. Pick it up with my usual greeting, and a voice on the other end says "Are you really supposed to use your right hand?" Huh? Who is this person and what is she talking about? I reply with a yes, constantly trying to figure out who this person is. Somehow I came to the conclusion that she was talking about knitting, but the only people I have talked about knitting to were in the office and this was an outside call. Sensing my hesitation over the phone, the mysterious caller finally said "This is Kimberly by the way". Wow! Could it really be Kimberly calling all the way from Belgium?!?! What a surprise! I had mentioned in a comment on her blog that it was hard for me to teach myself to knit because I was having to hold my yarn in my right hand, where I was so used to holding it in my left for crochet. She decided that a response was needed over the phone. lol. It really was great to talk to you Kimberly! And don't worry - I don't think you're stalking me.

We had a really nice conversation and a couple of suggestions for each other. I tried holding my yarn in my left hand last night, and just wasn't able to make it work. Kimberly thinks there is a conventional way and an american way to knit, so I'm going to go to my local knitting shop and ask about that. See what I can find out about what I'm doing wrong and what she may be doing wrong. I need to go there anyways to pick up some wool. I think the ladies there will be happy that I'm finally learning to knit. They've kind of looked down on me because I crochet. BUT, it's the only place in town that I can get some good wool.

Speaking of wool - I'm seriously thinking of participating in the 2006 Knitting Olympics challenge. I've decided that I'm going to knit myself a bag to felt with the wool I get for the "Winter Wool Swap" at crochetville. And what better way to challenge myself to do that than to do it in the Olympics! I was thinking about it last night and think I can come up with a schedule where I can complete it and study for my exam. Course, there won't be much time for sleep, but who really needs sleep anyways? This is the pattern I want to do... It's called French Market Bag. I will probably make it a little deeper though. What do you think? Can I do it? I was thinking of making a Kastanje Cardigan, but thought it may be a little complicated to do in 16 days. lol. One day...

Crummy Weekends

So, I've had a couple of crummy weekends lately. This past weekend because I was sick with some stomach bug all weekend. Still not feeling so well, but well enough that I could actually come to work today. Course, I haven't been incredibly productive (am a little distracted) but I'm working on it. On the bright side, I went over to my neighbors yesterday for her Mary Kay starter show. Did have a lot of fun, and Rosie and her leader invited me to their meeting on Tuesday to be an eye model for training. Should be fun. They also told me to bring my Parylite catalogs and some business cards with me since it would be a great place to network. Would be so nice if I could get that going again! Course, if I do get into grad school in the fall, I'm not sure where I will find the time to do everything. Oh well. A little extra income will be really nice for our trip to Aruba this summer and for the furniture that we want to buy before Christmas this year. So, wish me luck with that! The other good thing that came out of this weekend was that I started to teach myself how to knit. I'm working on a hat right now. Will post pics when it's done! I gotta say, though, that teaching myself to knit has been a lot harder that teaching myself to crochet. I found out on Kimberly's blog that Stephanie (aka Yarnharlot) has been stirring people up lately with her 2006 Knitting Olympics challenge. I wanna do it! Sounds like tons of fun. BUT I don't know if I can as I should be using that time to study for my ASBOG. Ugh. No fair!

Last weekend, on the other hand, was much worse. Went to WW Sat. morning to find I had gained a pound. yuck. Came home to find that my cute little doggies had chewed up my cell phone (they chewed the remote earlier in the week). I don't know what's come over them! Anyways, since we were AT&T customers, and AT&T was taken over by Cingular, not only did I have to buy myself a new phone, but we had to switch to Cingular and get Kyle a new phone too! Ugh. So, I knew what phone I wanted, and thankfully it was on sale. Kyle told me just to pick out the cheapest flip phone that would fit his case. An hour and $325.00 later, I walk out of Cingular and go to bring Kyle his phone at work. He took one look at my phone and said "oh. that's cool". Course, he was with a customer, so off to the cafe I went to drink some coffee and program my new phone. An hour and sever coffees later, he comes back and begins his phone depate. He even asked a c-worker and his store manager which one they thought he should get. Of course, everyone liked my phone best so back to Cingular I went. Thank goodness it was close. 45 minutes later I'm back with Kyle, his phone in hand. Woohoo! We decided to get lunch. I had been craving steak from Logan's so we went there. And I had the WORST cut steak I had ever had! There was fat or grissle on ever piece of meat I cut. What a Saturday it was turning out to be, eh? Thankfully they took my meal off the bill. Finally I got to go home and get some studying done. Sunday morning I downloaded a new ring tone to my phone, but found out that only 5 of the ring tones on my phone actually worked. What the heck is going on? I figured I could call Cingular and fix it over the phone. No one is available. Call back during business hours. Grrrr. So, I went to the store thinking they could do a quick fix only to find out there is nothing they can do. Therefore, I have to go home, get my box and charger, and come back to do an exchange. Waited a half hour to do the exchange. Ring tones all work. Hurrah! Set up the bluetooth and off I go! Get in the car, ring tones don't work. Turns out, my bluetooth headset is not 100% compatible with my phone. Now, had the first person I dealt whith done a little more research other than just saying "nothing we can do but exchange it" I wouldn't have lost my ring tone and the three pictures I took. Talk about frustration! And a lot of wasted time... Now, in order to get my ring tones to work when bluetooth is active, I need to get a new ear piece. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to deal with it for now.

As usual, I should get some work done for the day. I think I have spent the entire second have of my lunch doing this now... Have a great Monday!

Update #2

Woohoo! Two in a row! This one contains all my big news:

Before my Christmas vacation, I had decided that I had been working for 5 years and was finally eligible to take my Professional Geologist (PG) exam. Woohoo! So, I sent in my application and found out after I got back that I was indeed eligible and I could register for the exam. Great. Now I have to remember all that stuff I learned in college and haven't used since. Fun. I was hoping that in the registration packet they would provide some info on where to get study materials. I was wrong. All they provided were two little practice tests (one for the fundamentals test and one for the professional test). Little meaning 23 questions and answers each. Well, one test is 130 questions, and the other is 100. Ugh. They also provided a little outline with the different subjects within the field that could be on the exams. That's it. Nothing else. So, I called the board to find out where I can get study materials. They don't condone the sale of any study materials, and therefore can't tell me anything. They could tell me that some of their past test takers had taken a study class. But that's it. Grrrr. So, I started searching the internet. I found one forum website that had a thread on this exam, and a couple of people recommended a study guide. Yeah! They do exist! Even if there is only one. So, I orderd it. And paid $147. Ouch! Received the package yesterday and now have gone to completely stressed and not knowing where to start to having a plan and being excited. The study materials seem like they are going to be very helpful. And they have 4 practice exams (2 for each test) that are 100 questions each, plus some practice problems. So, this weekend I will be taking those exams to see what I still know, what I don't remember, and what I never learned. I will then have a really good idea of where to start in my studying. The test is March 3rd. Wish me luck!

The other big news I have is I have decided to go back for my masters degree this fall. I will be studying Hydrogeology at UTSA, provided the accept me! They want me to apply online, yet the application isn't up yet. Go figure. Guess I can start working on getting all my transcripts there as well as my GRE scores. Fun fun fun! Oh, I think I need recomendations too... One of my old bosses has offered to be a recommendation - now I think I just need to find 2 more people. Preferable people who have known me longer than 5 years.

Apologies to my readers...

First of all, I want to apologize for it being over a month since I posted! Yikes! Life just got really hectic preparing for Christmas, then I was out of town over Christmas, then I had to play catch up at work when I got back! And, of course, really the only time I have to update this thing is on my lunch or 10 minute breaks at work. And if time wasn't tight enough, it's about to get tighter! But I'll get into that a little later...

My vacation over Christmas was a much needed one. It felt really good to get away from the stresses of everyday life at work. And it's been bad lately. Kyle and I drove out to California - took us 25 hours total: 21 hours of drive time, and 4 hours of sleeping at rest stops. Not exactly the smartest thing to do, but we had all three dogs with us, so that made it really hard to stop anywhere else. There are hotels that allow pets on the way, but our precious pups tend to bark at any little sound - therefore, no sleep for us or for other vacationers! Not really the way we wanted to spend the night. So, we basically drove straight through. It was great to see mom and dad again, of course, and it was made even better by us having some time just the four of us before Jess and Shannon came out. Don't get me wrong - I love my sister and her husband - but, we didn't get to spend a lot of time with my parents while they were out for Thanksgiving, so it was really nice for it just to be us and my parents.

Christmas day was marvelous. We were totally spoiled by both my family and Kyle's. I really enjoyed spending time with his family. We spent a lot of time over at his mom's and it was really hard for us to leave. His mom is really sick and we're kind of worried about how much longer she's going to be around. One of the bad things about living so far away. On a high note, Jackie (Kyle's step mom) really loved the wrap that I made her. She had it on her lap from the moment she opened it until Bob (Kyle's dad)took it away from her and curled up under it. Here's a picture...
I had no idea it would be so popular! Kyle's grandma was in Arizona for Christmas this year, but we did get a call from her telling us how much she really loved her wrap and how it was the perfect colors. Cindy (Kyle's mom) didn't say too much about the shawl I made her. I was kind of wondering if she even liked it. But, she wasn't feeling well at the time either, so my guess is it was probably just that. Here's the shawl I gave Cindy...
I think it turned out really well, and it was the perfect size for her. I hope she gets good use out of it!

The day after Christmas was a spa day for the girls. Mom, Jess and I hit the spa at the Mission Inn for some relaxation (I got a massage, and Jess and Mom facials for Christmas). Then it was off to Nordstrom's for a make-over at the Smashbox counter, and back to Mission Inn for dinner. After dinner we went on a carriage ride to see the lights around the area, and walked around a bit will smoking cigars. It was a nice night.




So, after that fun filled day and night, the girls went out shopping for our ultimate purse, while dad worked, Shannon played on the computer, and Kyle went Geocaching with his dad. Dinner that night was at Ancho's. I really wish we could move that restaurant out here! Great ending to a wonderful vacation. Headed home the day after that. Was so hard to leave! But, my dad was right when he said "No matter how long you stay, you'll be leaving a day too soon". I must also say that it was a little nice to go back to just 3 dogs instead of 5...
It was hard to get them all to pose pretty for the pictures though... Grrrr - I can't get my pictures to line up all nice and pretty! How do you do it Kimberly?

Ok, I think that's all I'll post on this one, since it's getting pretty long. I'll post about the happenings since we got home a little later. I have to get SOME work done today afterall!