New News

Ok, so most of you already know that I've been travelling a lot, and when I travel, I rarely have time to update my blog. Sorry! Not a lot has happened, so you haven't missed much. All the exciting stuff (if you want to call it exciting) has all come about since this past Friday (last week).

So, #1, and by far the most important, I went to see my ortho again for the hematomas from the accident. Not really a good visit. He basically told me that he has seen no change and that my body has done all the healing that it plans on doing in it's own. Uhhh, ok. What does that mean? That means surgery to drain the hematoma's. Not good. For those of you interested, the surgery is this coming Tuesday (the 23rd). They will be keeping me in the hospital for 2-3 days to make sure I don't get any blood clots and that the cavities from the hematoma's don't fill back up again. Then I'll be home for at least a week until my post-op appointment on Nov. 2nd. We'll go from there depending on how things are healing and whatnot. On Friday, I wasn't looking forward to this. BUT I started having pain on Friday and it's progressively gotten worse (i called the doc begging for pain pills on Wed and I have a hight tolerance for pain) and now it's to the point that I can barely walk. I tell ya, I can't wait for that surgery now! Can't quite figure out why the pain has come back and that bothers me. But, I'm trying not to worry too much about it now. Anyways, enough about that.

Update #2: I finally got my invite to Ravlery! Yeah! I'm so very excited. And I'm thinking that I'll have plenty of time after my surgery to get things up and running there. And to check it out more.

That's it. All that time and nothing interesting other than those two things. Sigh.

So Exhausted

Well, I've been travelling for work again. Was in Texas City two weeks ago, Odessa last week, and will be in Texas City again for the next two weeks. Needless to say, my weekends have basically been filled with unpacking, doing laundry, cleaning house and re-packing. No time to do anything exciting. The Texas City work has been office work, which was fine, but Odessa was my first time out doing field work since the accident, and I think it was a little much for me so soon - I was hurting by Wednesday already. Ugh. And this weekend I have hardly been home either. Kyle decided he wanted to go geocaching today. Had a plan to do 15 caches so I can finally reach 200. I think we found five. Not a good caching day. I must say, though, we didn't actually look for all 15 caches though. Some of them were in questionable places, or in areas we passed and decided not to turn around to go find. Guess I should go log my caches. What I really want to do is sleep. Gotta get up at 4:30 to exercise before heading to the airport. Ick.

Ok, can hardly keep the eyes open. Taking my unfinished socks with me in hopes of having some time and energy to work on them. Maybe I'll have one done by the time I get home on Friday.... Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still around!

It's a Girl!

While being distracted by football today, I did manage to put together one of my two Baby Snow Dragon. Kyle wanted a dragon that looked like Elliot from Pete's Dragon and this is what happened! I do believe that Elliot had a baby girl! I think she's the cutest of the animals so far. Heading to Texas City tomorrow, so won't be able to put the other one together until next weekend. Dang football. At least the Packers, Chargers AND Steelers won! Let me know what you think of Baby Ellie, and have a great week!

More Faces Only a Mother Can Love

Ok. Made the Aerial Pig the other day and again, I am quite proud of my accomplishment. Of course, he's sitting on the end of the coffee table looking scary right now. Yet another face only a mother can love! Here's a pic of my piggy with my nekkid sheep...



And, of course, the title of this post wouldn't be accurate without these pictures!





And then we move on to what I've been up to this weekend...



Now, some of you will know exactly what this is and what it's going to be, and some of you are probably thinking WTF? I guess you're just going to have to wait and see! I've got a few more pieces to make before assembly, so I'll be working on that while watching football. And maybe, just maybe, there will be another post at the end of the day...

Go Packers and Chargers!!!

Weigh In Day #1

Well today was my first weigh in day after starting the Body for Life Program. I got up every morning at 5, did my required exercises (I'm proud of myself for that), ate 6 portion sized, healthy, balanaced meals daily, and drank 8 to 10 glasses of water daily. So now tell me, how could I have gained a pound, and 2% body fat? I could understand gaining weight if I had lost body fat, but to gain body fat? I haven't even eaten cheese this week! And you all know how I love my cheese. I just don't get it.

Nekkid Sheep

Seeing how there was an official mascot for International Crochet day, and the pattern was available, I decided I needed one to carry with me as a reminder of the upcoming holiday! He's my first stuffed animal, so he's a little wonky, but I think he's cute anyways. Probably one of those situations where only a mother can think he's cute, but oh well! Without further ado, here he is!



Pattern can be found here. Go and make your own International Crochet Day mascot!

International Crochet Day!

Mr. Jimbo is trying his hardest to start a new holiday dedicated to crochet, and I'm here to help promote it! What am I gonna do? I'm going to let EVERYONE I know about it! And they're going to tell EVERYONE they know about it! And so on and so forth. Any friends and family interested in learning (I know of a few)? I'm here to help in whatever way, shape, or form! So go out, grab a hook and some yarn, and start crocheting! I was hoping I could use my floating holiday this year to sit around and crochet all day, but, alas, my company is sending me to a clients office that week and I am unable to. So, after work that day I plan on sitting in my hotel room and crocheting my little heart out until I can't crochet anymore. Have yet to figure out what I'm going to make, but whatever it is will be going to charity. Guess I should pick a charity first, eh? So, ideas and suggestions are welcome! I also know what YOU are going to do to honor and promote International Crochet Day!

In other news, I have an FO!!!! Bet you would never have guess that, eh? I made Kimberly's Sideways Lace Scarf and I think it turned out great! I used Bernat DenimStyle in a color whose name I can't read off the label. lol. The pattern in the yarn makes it a little difficult to see the pattern in the scarf, but I loved the yarn - it's so soft and snuggly! I found another nice soft and snuggly yarn to make another scarf out of, but it's just too fuzzy. It was one of Hobby Lobby's yarns, and it was on sale, but now I have two skeins of it and I have no idea what to do with it. Maybe tomorrow I can take a picture of the yarn and give ya'll the stats so you can help me out. I know you are all brilliant and have great ideas!

Ok, I need to go prepare the strawberry cheesecake for dessert so I can do some crocheting. So, I'll leave you with the pics of my scarf! Sorry the full length picture is a tad blurry. I'll have to try re-taking it sometime. I want to make more so if anyone wants one, shoot me a comment! Have a great night!





Oh yeah - added the second strip to my afghan. Don't remember if I told ya or not. But, here is the pic of that too!

Some Better Pictures

Kyle was a real sweety yesterday and bought me one of those LCD picture frames for our anniversary. But, no only did he do that, he scanned several of our wedding photos and loaded them, along with photos from other great times we've had together, into the frame. He also loaded in our wedding song and the song that was played while our guests were being seated so they play when you're viewing the slideshow. Isn't that just so wonderful? It made me cry. Anyways, I had him email me some of the pictures that he scanned so I can post a couple of better pictures. Here they are!

First off - Kyle waiting for the wedding to begin. Like the sunglasses?



Me in the gazebo...



Me and Kyle (my favorite picture)...



and the whole family...

Today

...is hubby's and my anniversary. Happy Anniversary to us! 3 years down and many more to go. Love you baby! Muah!

Here's a picture of us on this day in 2004 with Kyle's parents. The lighting is kind of off, but it's the best one I have and I can't fix it here.



One of these days I'll figure out how to post clickable images....

It Has Begun!

So, I went to my annual physical this past Friday and was informed that I had gained 23 pounds over the past year. 23 POUNDS!! How could I have let that happen? And that doesn't count all the weight that I had lost and gained back after many failed attempts at weight loss. Not good. The doctor suggested the Body for Life program by Bill Phillips. I bought the book a long time ago, read it, but never went through with it. I decided that now is the time. And what's perfect about my timing is a new challenge begins tomorrow! And a co-worker is interested in doing the program with me. So, we started today! I got up, did my upper body workout and have been eating balanced meals every couple of hours. And I'm determined to stick with it for the whole 12 weeks. We bought my sisters home gym from her and purchased a stationary bike from Academy. I'm all set and ready to go! Wish me luck! I'll keep you updated on how I'm doing and if you're lucky, I'll post my before and after pictures at the end of November!

Hope everyone is having a great Labor Day Weekend!

One Strip Down...

Four to go! My newest WIP - Diamond and Rings afghan from Blue-Ribbon Afghans. I've made one already for a Secret Pal Swap and just loved making it. So, I was looking for a good pattern to help decrease my stash while using my size I Jimbo hook that I won back in June, and I found this pattern to be perfect! I found the first one I made a little long, so decided to cut about 1/3 of the length off and now I think it's just tad too short for me. Think I may just have to give it away and make another one for myself. Anyone want it?





Don't worry, the ends will be woven in before it gets shipped...

In other news, look what I got today!



If features this:



I'm so excited. Took me a while to find it, but find it I did! Congratulations again Jimbo!

And speaking of Jimbo, I got this Friday...



Woohoo! Actually, the one on the left is my I hook that for some reason never made it into my blog. I think I was just too excited to have it that I couldn't stop using it long enough to take a picture! It's made from the famous apple tree at the crick. The one on the right is the one I just received yesterday. It's size K and made of briar. I know this picture doesn't do either of the hooks justice. They are so smooth and so gorgeous, and I love usint them! Now, if only I can get my hands on an H hook, I may get inspired to finally finish that Cathedral afghan I started 2 years ago... Unfortunately, I keep getting outbid after I have retired for the evening. Oh well, one day. There's a contest going for an H hook right now, so maybe I'll win it. Yeah right. Maybe that's wishful thinking - I never win anything! Wish me luck anyways.

Ok, gotta get back to working on the afghan. Have a great rest of the weekend!

For the Tea Lovers

Ok, just a quick post because I don't have much time right now... I know if have several tea lovers reading my blog out there, and this post is for you! Thanks to mom and dad, I have discovered the best loose leaf tea available on the market. And I've had some great teas - Adagio and Republic of Tea are two of my favorites. But this one surpasses them all. It's called Teavana. Go check out their website, and if they have a store near you, by all means, go to it! You can smell and taste the teas. Unfortunately, I don't have one near me, so I had to pick from what sounded good, and I was far from being dissapointed! (Except I stupidly picked a fall mix of teas and while it is still wonderful, it's just not a summer tea). Well, that's about it for now! Gotta run. Mom is in town this week (she got here yesterday - remind me to tell you what happened with that) and we're running around today. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

I Was Just Thinking...

(dangerous, I know) that maybe some of you would rather see a family picture instead of one of just the parents and their grandkids... So, here ya go - unfortunately Kyle didn't make it :(

I'm Back!

And most of you probably didn't even know that I was gone...About two weeks ago (well, it will be two weeks on Friday), I loaded myself onto a southwest flight and headed out to California for a short vacation. Dad decided he wanted to have a surprise birthday/retirement party for my Mom and ask my sister, her hubby, her sons, and myself and Kyle to come out for it. As Kyle had just started a new job, he couldn't go, but the rest of us did! They came home from Vegas Saturday afternoon to approximately 75 people waiting for them. Us kids were the last to show ourselves and she was shocked! She had absolutely no clue whatsoever. It was so cool, and tons of fun. We were all scheduled to come back home on the following Tuesday, but since I've had no work to do lately because of my injury, I decided to stay longer and come home on Friday. I can't tell you how nice it was just to hang out with the folks! It was hard to leave.



Speaking of my injury, while I was in California, my hematomas finally decided to start decreasing in both size and pain! I couldn't believe it. Not sure what I did for that to happen, but whatever it is, I want to keep doing it! I've actually been in the office this week. Yeah! I go back to the dr. on Friday for an update. I'll let ya'll know how that goes.



Anyways, I'll leave ya with a picture of the parents and their grandkids from while we we in Cali.

Yeah, I'm Still Alive

But a lot has happened since I last posted! Well, maybe not really a lot, seeing how I've basically been confined to the house for the last month. The month before that wasn't all exciting either - basically travelling someplace different every week for work, and getting tired of it. So, when I got sent to Louisiana a month ago, I said enough was enough and got hit by a truck. A month ago today. Hence being confined to the house. Now, before you freak out, I'll tell you that I didn't break anything, and nothing was fractured. Basically I'm alright. There was major bruising and I have a lump on each of my thighs that the doctors are calling hematomas. They're unsightly, they hurt like hell, and they say it'll take 6 months to a year to heal. That means sitting at home with my feet up and ice on the boo boos whenever possible. Fun fun fun! Work has been great for me, and has sent some stuff here for me to do at my request so I don't go too crazy. Though it's hard to have the laptop or keyboard on my lap. The workers comp doctors haven't been so great, but I'll get into that later.

So, what exactly happened, you ask? I was on a job site logging soil borings from the tailgate of my rented pickup truck when one of my subs backed their F-350 1 ton duelly up to about 6-8 feet away from me. He put his truck in park, left it running, and started to get out. The truck then slipped out of park and into reverse, the door knocking him down, and the truck backing up right into me and pinning me between the two vehicles. It hurt. It hurt bad. But, I have to be extremely thankful that most of my height is legs, and I had an extra 6" due to my steel toe boots. If I hadn't had the boots on, or if I were a little shorter, it would have crushed my pelvis. Things being the way they were, I got crushed where I carry most of my weight and where the largest bones of the body are. I got lucky, very lucky. The following pictures are of my rental truck. The two trucks never touched each other.

Anyways, that's about all that's been going on in my life lately. I've been working on a few projects, read a few books, and slept when I can. Just thought I would update everyone while I was awake/aware enough to do it. Here are some of my WIPs (I don't have a picture of the most recent one that I started) and my one project that I actually finished.

This is a crocheted shawl using Rainbow boucle. I decided after this picture was taken that it needed fringe. Not sure how I feel about it, but it's nice and warm and I love the pattern. My most recent FO.

My first attempt at socks! I'm so clost to being done, but got tired of dealing with 5 needles. Maybe I'll get the inspiration to finish at least one sock and that will give me the inspiration to make a second one!

And my knitted self-fringing shawl that I have been working on FOREVER! Every now and again I get it under my skin to work on it, but I get about two rows done and can't bring myself to work on it anymore. It will get finished, eventually.

So, that's it on my end. Hope everyone is doing much better then me. I'll get into what's going on with the doctors later. I need to get this keyboard off my lap now :)

Why...

have I not been wanting to craft lately? I just don't get it. I have a knit shawl that I want to finish so I can start on new projects, and I'm still finding all sorts of new projects that I want to start, but I just can't get myself motivated to knit. Maybe it's all the travelling?

I'm so exhausted from travelling that I actually slept until 9:30 this morning. That's not like me. And I had to pull over into a parking lot to nap on my way home from work yesterday because I was falling asleep while I was driving. Not good. And to keep you updated - I leave again for Texas City on Monday, come home Wed. then I'm off to Dallas on Thurs with my capoeira group. Yea! 2 days off, but yet I'm still travelling. Then the next week I'm in Longview, and the week after back in Texas City. And supposedly Lake Charles Louisiana the week after with another trip to Texas City the week after THAT. One of my clients wants me to do some work out in Louisiana (not sure where) and right now I'm travelling through the middle of June. Ugh.

But, enough of the complaints. My sister and I took my nephews to Lowes last week and bought some plants for our gardens. I'm so excited about what I got! Too bad I'm not home to enjoy them... Anyways, lookie at what I got!

Stargazer Lilies - My favoritest flower in the whole world! And from what the tags say, they sould be really happy in my garden! They're so pertty.

And orange/red Lantana's. Woot! They look pertty too.

Of course, I may not be obsessed with my knitting lately, but I have been obsessed with my babies. They've been so good lately.

Waiting for Daddy...

Woot! Daddy's home!

We're so good!

For some reason, my layout isn't working for me today. And I've just spent way too much time struggling with it. Oh well. You'll survive, right? Hope ya have a GREAT weekend!

I May Be a Genius in Disguise

So, not 5 minutes after my last post, I decided to play around and may have actually figured it out! Woot! Now to get home and get the rest of my codes to post....

Web Rings

So, I'm involved in several web rings out there, but for some reason I cannot get the links added into my template! I'm getting so frustrated it's not even funny. I have literally pasted that code in between every line of my html code and either it doesn't show up or i get an error message. GRRRR! Oh yeah, and I had one of the rings on my blog before this whole switchover to google and it has disappeared. So, I've requested the code again, but can't get it to show! WTF? Anybody out there using google blogger that can help me? It would be so greatly appreciated!

So good to be home!

So, I'm home. For and entire week. Yeah! I looked back at my calendar for this year and realize I have been home for an entire 3 weeks this year. No wonder I'm so sick of travelling! Looks like I will be home this week, and then it's off travelling again for another 5 weeks. Ugh. The good thing about it is I will be receiving some really nice paychecks before ENSR takes over and I start getting comp time in place of my overtime.

Mom and Dad drove my new car out two weeks ago now, and I've managed to drive it 3 times. I ran some errands today in the cold and the rain and was enjoying driving it so much that I was looking for more errands to run! How odd for me. Usually when I've been travelling so much all I want to do is sit and veg. Here's a picture of my new toy:

Isn't she pretty? It's a 2005 Ford Escape Limited and oh so nice. Mom and Dad decided we shouldn't have a car payment anymore so, they gave it to us. Now we need to decide whether we want to sell the PT Cruiser or the Xterra so we can pay off the Xterra and have one less bill. How nice would that be?

The dogs seem to have missed me while I've been away. They are all following me around the house and piling on top of me when I sit. Even Smudge. Took some pictures of them today - Sorry that Stitch is a little obscene....But the pictures are cute!

Pay attention to us Momma!

We're sitting so pretty...

Aren't we cute?

Stitch is King of the Chair!

I don't know what possessed the dogs to start laying on top of the chair like that, but Zero does it too. I guess they're taking lessons from the cat.

Well, unfortunately my life hasn't been all that interesting lately. Working too much can do that to you I guess. I haven't even touched my knitting lately. It's so much of a hassle to try to bring it on the plane with all my work crap, and I haven't had much time for it while I've been home either. Hopefully I can make some progress this week. I look forward to being able to train capoeira while I'm home too - even if it's only two nights. I've been trying to practice my kicks on the road, but I seldom have enough space in the hotel room or the hotel gym (if the hotel has a gym) to work on that without hurting myself.

My throat is killing me today. I think I'm gonna make myself some tea and watch The Neverending Story on T.V. Ya'll have a great night and a Happy Easter!

Oh yeah, I forgot

For those of you waiting for this news...I went to see the nephrologist yesterday to get the results of my tests and see if I can have babies. And her answer was my kidney function is still stable at 50%. That's good news. The protein I lose did not significantly increase when taken off the Atacand. More good news. But then, she brought out the most recent study of pregnant women with FSGS. Of course, the most recent study was 1988, but the results are still valid. And here they are: 50% of the fetus's die. To top it off, 50% of the women suffered irreversible kidney damage and were on dialysis within 4 years. Not good statistics, eh? So, it was highly recommended that I not have babies. :( And these statistics didn't include my problem with blood clots. So, that's that. Guess we'll have to look into adoption! And in the meantime, spoil those little nephews of mind like crazy!