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!

Josh

Ok, I must start off by saying that Josh Groban is a major cutie. And boy, can the dude sing! Mom and Dad gave us tickets to his concert for Christmas and off we went on Thursday! Kyle said he would just "suck it up" and go with me. Turns out he really enjoyed it. I must say it was one of the best concerts I have been to. And not only can he sing, but he's great with the crowd as well. Definitely recommend you make it to one of his shows if you get the chance.

The opening band was wonderful as well. Angelique Kidjo is the name. Music is African, and has a wonderful beat if you don't mind not knowing what the heck they are singing. I fell in love with her voice as well. Check her out when you get a chance. http://www.kidjo.com/. She sung a duet with Josh during the concert that was very moving. It's going to be on her new album coming out May 1st. I can't wait!

Mom and Dad are on their way out from Cali to visit for a while. Mom's spring break is next week, so she'll be out here all week. Dad will be leaving Wed. to go back to work. Unfortunately I'm leaving Monday to head out to Odessa so I'll only get to see them tomorrow evening. I'm so sad that I can't spend more time with them!

On the craft front, not much has been done lately. I've been working on my self fringing shawl when I have the time, but the time just isn't there. Work has been driving me insane and shipping me off to all corners of Texas. I try to bring my knitting with me, but by the time I get back to the hotel at night I don't want to do anything but sleep. Which is what I want to do now. Been going all day - mowed the lawn, ran errands, fed nephews, ran errands with sister and nephews, fed nephews again, entertained nephews... Finally have a chance to sit down, and I just want to do nothing. At least I'm blogging though, right?

Sweater Complete!

Well, almost...I still have to weave in the ends, but you can't really see them in the picture! It's a little small, but I did that on purpose as I'm in the process of attempting to lose weight. And I really need to wear like a tank top or something under it when I do wear it out in public - which probably won't be until next year as the temperatures are already in the 80's out here and it doesn't look like it's going to cool off again anytime soon. Oh well. I'm still proud! It's the first wearable I have made (other then shawls) and it turned out exactly as expected! And I didn't even crochet up a guage. Bad Jenny! When will I ever learn? Anyways, the specifics - the pattern came out of the winter Simply Creative Crochet and I used Patons Classic Wool in colors I can't remember off the top of my head (I'm at work) and Patons SWS in Natural Navy (the stripes). I'll let you know what the brown and natural colors are when I get home. So, now to the picture!

Well, what do you think?

Happy Friday to Me!

I received my package from the Magic Ball Swap from Bron! She really outdid herself. Check out all the goodies I got!

I know I was supposed to wait until I was working with the yarn to find all the trinkets inside, but I have a sweater to finish before I can start another project so I cheated. :) Here's all the fun stuff from inside...The little grey sheep is a tape measure - his little arm comes out. And he is so adorable! I absolutely love everything Bron. Thank you so very much!

On the work front, got out to Canadian safe and sound on Monday, and on Tuesday we cancelled the job. The temperature was in the mid 20's with 20 to 30 mile per hour winds bringing the wind chill into the single digits. We decided it was a bad idea for the driller's helpers to be sticking their hands in buckets of water to decon equipment. Not to mention other equipment was already freezing up. So, shut down and made plans for heading home. Woke up Wednesday to this:

Seems to be a trend here. Good thing we postponed the work! Definitely wouldn't want to be drilling in snow with temperatures in the teens and wind chill below freezing. It's supposed to be in the 60's on Monday. Flying back out Sunday. Wish us luck!

And to close, I found this picture on my camera when I downloaded pictures tonight. Aren't they the cutest?

Ok, off to work on my sweater. Only a sleeve and a half and the edging around the neck to go!

What do I do?

I just hopped on my magic ball pals blog to find that her hubby bought her yarn for her birthday. And not just any yarn...he bought her the same yarn and colorway that I bought her for the magic ball swap. So, the question is, do I keep the yarn for myself and buy her something different? Or do I just send her the yarn anyway with a little note saying I bought it before her hubby did? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Shopping day

i'm heading out shopping today to get some trinkets to put into my magic ball. still waiting for my yarn to come. hopefully it will be here waiting for me when i get back from canadian. i think i'm also going to buy yarn for the sweater i want to make from Simply Creative Crochet if i can find colors i like. unfortunately my michaels doesn't carry as much wool as i would like and finding patons sws and merino may be difficult. we'll just have to wait and see! i'll shower and head out as soon as hubby leaves for work. in the meantime, i'll be working on some WIPs that i need to finish before i will allow myself to work on that sweater!

I Found It!

I've been looking for Simply Creative Crochet Fall 2006 issue since its release date, and I've not been able to locate it. So, I'm here in Longview and my co-worker wanted to go into Books A Million and get a magazine. Just for shits and giggles, I decided to look, and there it was! I was so excited. And it was supposed to be taken off the self on either Jan 9th or 19th (something like that - I remember it had a 9. I think it was the 9th. I'm just to lazy to walk across the room and look). I can't say the magazine was really worth the wait, but there is a sweater pattern in there that I love and was the reason I was looking for it, so it make the cost worth it at least.

Today is my nephews 2 month birthday! They're getting so big so fast. They weighed in at 9 pounds 8 oz! Here's some pics that Jess sent me today:

Aren't they just so cute?!?! They've been taking up all my free time at home. Look forward to seeing them again!

On the work side, looks like I'll be heading home from Longview tomorrow. We pretty much kicked butt this week getting things done. Of course, it helps that the weather has been so beautiful. Mid-60's and sunny! Absolutely perfect sampling weather. Oh, and it has been decided that I'm heading up to Canadian (2 hours north of Amarillo) on Sunday and drilling all week. Not sure that that's where I'm most needed, but oh well. It will be good to be drilling again. Been a long time since I've done anything other than groundwater sampling. Should check the weather.

So, I think I'm going to do that and then play a little. Maybe even do some reading....

Work Sucks

So, I'm supposed to go home tomorrow and then leave again on Sunday to go to Canadian. And the week after, I'm supposed to go to Longview. Well, I'm still going home tomorrow (thank goodness) but now I'm going to Longview next week. And I'm supposed to come back to Houston, go to Canadian, and go to East Mountain the week after. WTF? How is that supposed to happen? Should be interesting to say the least. Needless to say, I need to have discussions with three project managers to figure out exactly where I'm going to be. Watch me end up in the office. I could just smack some people sometimes.

On a lighter note, I ordered the yarn for my magic ball swap! I was bad and ordered some for myself too. :) Shame on me. I'm very excited though. And I will finally force myself to make some socks! I cruised by the ville last night just to see what's been going on since I joined the freaks, and they're doing sign ups for a wool swap. I just may have to join. I wasn't part of the bruhaha that went down, but I am friends with some of those that were. Does that make me a bad person? I just love wool yarn and had such a blast doing the last wool swap...

So, I have recently gotten back in contact with a friend that I had like 15 years ago. We kept in touch here and there after I moved away from Pennsylvania in 92, but lost touch many years ago. Anyways, I got a message from her through classmates and we've been emailing ever since. I was so incredibly excited. Turns out we are still so very much alike, after all these years. It turns out she even has a secret passion for crochet! If you're reading this, Tammy, I'm very glad to know you again! When are you coming to visit? :)

Alright. I guess I should call Kyle and let him know my change in plans. He'll be happy to hear that I'm not leaving until Monday now. Maybe I'll even have some time to work on one of my many WIPs this weekend as well as study for my PG exam...

It has begun!

The magic ball swap over at fiber freaks that is! I'm so excited. This is my first swap with the freaks. I already have so many ideas of what yarn I want to use and what I want to wrap up in it. Now I just need to find the time to hit the stores! I'm stuck in Houston this week, then north of Amarillo next week, and east Texas the week after. By the time I get home, the swap will be over! Not good. But, I'll find a way to make it work. Time to do some blog stalking!

Why?

Why is it that people are so rude? Was up in Odessa Monday night and didn't sleep a wink. Why, you ask? Because from the time I got to the hotel at 8 pm until sometime in the wee morning hours, the people staying above me decided it was cool to stomp around their room! I swore they were going to fall through at any minute. And no, I'm not exaggerating - it was that bad. Especially in the bathroom. I finally gave up at midnight and called the front desk. They said they would call them and sure enough after I hung up I heard them stomp from the sitting area to the telephone. I got an entire 10 minutes of quiet after that. Then the stomping began again and this time it was worse! I was so tempted to kill them. I eventually passed out from shear exhaustion, but only got about half hour of sleep before being woken up again. Not fun.

So, got up Tues. morning and went down to breakfast. There were 6 tables and all full. Four of the tables had people sitting and enjoying a cup of coffee with their newspaper. Went and got a plate and started eating standing up. Woohoo! Finally, someone decided to get up and my coworker and I grabbed our luggage and headed for the table with our food only to get cut off by some guy. Drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. WTF? At this point in time I'm in a very sour mood. Didn't get sleep, had to eat standing up. We gave up on the table and headed toward the SUV we rented to see this:

Yup! That's snow! And I got to drive in it. Of course the streets weren't clear. Lots of fun driving to the site (and on the site, for that matter - seeing how it had no roads). But, I do have to admit that the snow saved my day. I haven't seen snow in years and was really excited. I think there was a total of maybe 1.5-2 inches. Not much, but snow is snow, right? It snowed on us the entire time we were outside working too. Eventually we were done with everything we could do without our water delivery, so we hopped in the warm car and waited. And it stopped snowing. Go figure.

The rest of the day went rather smoothly until we go to the airport. My co-worker forgot he had his lighter in his pocket so he stashed it in his backpack hoping it would get through security. It did. Me, on the other hand, didn't. Apparently I look like a threat or something because they decided for no reason that they needed to frisk me and then scan my boots with some machine. I just don't get it.

Today was a long day at work and I'm so exhausted. Kyle wants me to play WOW and level my mage, I want to craft, but I think all that's going to happen tonight is I'm going to sign off here and go to bed. I slept through my alarm this morning for an entire hour (hence the long day at work). Don't want that to happen again! I'll leave you with a picture of my babies on our new furniture....

I wish their eyes wouldn't turn blue with the flash though. It makes them look evil. Especially Smudge. But, I guess you could say it brings out their true colors! lol.

Night night.

Where, Oh Where, Has the Time Gone?

Wow. I can't believe that it's almost February 2007 already! Where has the time gone? It's been so long since I've logged into this site that I don't even know where to start. Things have been crazy with work and life in general. My twin nephews were born on Dec. 6th. Everyone is healthy and happy. Here's the happy family:

I finished their blankets a little late, but the blankies are still too big for them even now. Oops. They're warm and snuggly, though, so I'm sure they'll get their use.

I started training Capoeira (www.go-cap.com) in Nov. and fell in love with it. The people I train with are marvelous and the training itself is tons of fun. It kicks my butt every time I go, but it's well worth it. It's really been helping out with my daily aches and pains in me knee and back too. I can tell when I haven't trained in a while when the pain comes back. I just need to get work to stop making me travel so I don't miss any classes!

I do have a couple of FOs for 2007. I sat down the past couple of days and made Deneen's Chunky Brimmed Winter Chapeau (http://deneens.blogspot.com/2007/01/chunky-brimmed-winter-hatchapeau.html) and a Calorimetry (http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter06/PATTcalorimetry.html). Pictures are bad, though, as I took them myself. So don't laugh.

And I have about 90 grams of 100% bulky weight wool that I'm looking to do something with. Any ideas?

I'll quit boring you for now! Gotta go pack for a trip to Midland tomorrow. Going to be snowing there. Yuck. Of course, snow is better than ice any day.

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...