10 Items in Your Ravelry Queue

Since I can never seem to get my act together enough to participate in the 10 on Tuesday by CaroleKnits, I am going to create my own little 10 on Tuesday list and post it on Tuesdays.

I missed last week because of work things (I changes jobs yesterday so I was busy wrapping stuff up and missed the 10 on Tuesday post last week).

Here is this week’s topic created by me.

10 Items in Your Ravelry Queue (in no particular order)

1. Cable Vest

2. Christine Bag

3. Oz

4. Ivy

5. Tomato

6. Giselle

7. Zoro

8. Quadrat

9. Pyroclastic

10. Shapely Boyfriend

You can find me on ravelry as SoccerMomKnits.

Knitting and Stress

I find myself sitting at my desk with my jaw clenched tight, shoulder and neck muscles locked, and my patience gone a lot these days.  Some of it is caused by general life stress but most is caused by work frustrations, primarily difficult coworkers, changing criteria and dealing with family law in general.  These are the days that I turn to my knitting to help me deal with stress.  As I often joke, I knit to stay sane and so I don’t kill someone because let’s face it, prison orange is not my color.

I have never been very successful in sitting still and breathing yoga-style.  Mainly, because I can never get my brain to shut up long enough for that.  However, knitting is my meditation.  There is something peaceful and relaxing in the repetitive action of knitting and purling that soothes my frustrations. 

I will admit, though, that on days when I am really stressed out, the best thing for me to work on is something mindless (garter stitch, for example) that does not require a lot of pattern reading.  There is nothing worse than knitting to relieve stress on a complicated project and finding yourself making mistakes and dropping stitches.  Talk about frustrating.

If you find yourself stress to the point of no return, pick up a craft like knitting or something similar that will help you learn to relax and let go of your day. 

Here are some interesting articles on knitting and stress relief:

http://sd-dickens.hubpages.com/hub/How-Knitting-Can-Relieve-Stress

http://www.knitonthenet.com/issue4/features/therapeuticknitting/

http://www.knitvana.com/knitting_stress_relief

http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/blissing-out-10-relaxation-techniques-reduce-stress-spot

Where have I been?

I haven't posted in over two weeks.  Guess I am not doing so well on that Post a Week Challenge.  We were sick last week and the week before that was so swamped with work that I missed it.  Oh well, I will try to do better but in the meantime, lets play catch up.  

First off, Princess Ivi has been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis.  Considering I have been battling this since I was a teenager, I guess I am not surprised.  I am very bummed out though because it is so challenging.  Anyway, we are working on getting her into a rheumatologist and physical therapist.  Also, her doctor has suggested she do yoga as a way of keeping her range of motion.  Luckily for us, there is a free yoga class at the library on Thursday evenings.  I am hoping to get her all lined up for that within the next week or so.  

I have been reading a lot.  I just finished Shannon Butcher's Living Nightmare from The Sentinel Wars series.  I love this series and can't wait for the next installment.  

I also just got an email from Read It Forward that I was chosen to receive Madam Tussaud.  I love to read books and of course, when they are free, it is even better. 

I have been knitting too.  I had made one of the attorneys I work with a pair of Susie's Reading Mitts just after Christmas.  Well, she liked them so much that she made a deal with me for another pair.  In exchange for these, she will provide me with an "unlimited" number of homemade earrings.  This pair is made in black and made a bit shorter to accommodate smaller hands.  They are coming along well and I should be done with them this weekend which is good considering she has already given me 4 pairs of earrings.  

Our tax return should be here tomorrow.  Just in time for new glasses for both me and Princess Ivi, vet visits for the two dogs and cat, car repair, Princess Ivi's dress for the military ball, etc.  Needless to say, it feels like the money has already been spent.  

Plans for the weekend include eye appointments (hopefully) and a trip to either Orlando or Jacksonville for Princess Ivi's military ball dress.  And of course, knitting, laundry, grocery shopping, sorting coupons, and cleaning the house, too.  Busy, busy, busy as usual.  

I am disappointed because my health and beauty coupons took a real wallop last week.  What happened?  The dog destroyed my organizer and shredded the coupons she didn't eat.  I was very irritated.  I am working on rebuilding it but I know there were coupons in there that I will not be able to replace.  

We are busy planning the high school's Spring Fest.  The ROTC puts it on.  This includes organizing it, set up, selling booths, etc.  I managed to get myself drafted to be in charge of booths.  I have helpers but I have never spoken to them about it.  After the last meeting, I realized that my job is probably one of the most labor intensive jobs for the festival which stinks because it was not my idea to be in charge of anything.  But I feel pretty good about how it is coming together.  I have some work to do but I think I am on the ball.  

Well, I am not sure I will be able to post more before the weekend so I hope everyone enjoys. 

100th Post for 2009

This is my 100th post. I feel like I should post something deep and meaningful but I don't think I can pull it off.

Facebook - Love it or hate it?

I will say this, I love Facebook. I love the fact that I can reconnect with old friends who I have lost touch with because let's face it, when you are 15 and move 1,500 miles away, you don't think too much about keeping in touch with those people who you love. It is only as we get older and think of those people and wonder about those people and miss them that we wish we could go back and write more, call more, visit more. Granted Facebook can't go back in time so you know that person's whole story but it connects you and makes it possible to ask for the whole story, if you want.

I am a winner...
I was contacted by Tammy at Mom Knows Everything because I won her Pulse Yoga DVD Giveaway. How cool is that?

Christmas...Ready or not, here it comes!
I went to Walmart to pick up Christmas Ivi's gifts last night after work. I hate Walmart at Christmas. It is always crazy. Too many people and of course, there are always those shoppers who stop in the middle of the aisle, not leaving enough room to go around them, and take forever to do anything. Or those people who visit with others in the middle of the aisle instead of moving over a little bit to let others pass.

But I had a semi-successful trip. One of the things she asked for was there and the other was not (but I was able to order it for ship-to-store this morning) and I was able to pick up some stocking stuffers as well as some wrapping supplies.

I still need to pick something up for my nephew in Massachusetts. I am going to do that on my way home.

As for my brother's kids, I have a slight dilemma. I am not sure we are getting a Christmas bonus this year and without that, I don't have any more money so that means I have to knit stuff for them. Considering the fact that there are 10 knitting days (counting today) and I have to work 7 of those days and can't be knitting then, I am starting to worry.

I am working on a pair of Alice Wristwarmers for my neice that are neon green and white striped. They look very Dr. Seussy - how is that for a non-word?

As for my nephews, I am stuck. Will is very smart, loves books, science, science fiction, puzzles, etc. I am not sure what to knit for him. Jacob is very smart, loves Lord of the Rings, action figures, Star Wars, etc. I am thinking of a sword belt, a crown and a ring. Then he can be Strider from LOR and have his crown for when he is made king. I would just need to pick up a plastic sword for him.

I feel bad that I can't do more for them especially because my brother is currently out of work and won't be able to do much for them either.

Welcome Back, Peanut Butter Cookie!! (and Christmas knitting update)

I used to make batches and batches of peanut butter cookies for my Uncle Dave. But when Dave died in 1999, I couldn't make peanut butter cookies anymore. The smell of the peanut butter was just too much for me to handle and made me miss him too much. After years of abstaining from the peanut butter cookie baking, I made a batch this summer. I used the same recipe that I had used all those years ago but I didn't like them anymore. Absence in this case did not make the heart grow fonder. They were too crumbly and just not what I want in a peanut butter cookie. I had resigned myself to being peanut butter cookie-less for the foreseeable future.

However, after yesterday, I see peanut butter cookies in my future once again. I made the Peanut Butter Cut-Out Cookies from Hershey's. I didn't roll and cut them out because I have bad luck with that. Instead I just sliced and baked them. They are so good. Instead of using peanut butter, you use peanut butter chips. They taste like real peanut butter and they are soft and chewy. I made these for the Baking GALS box I am sending to our soldier in Iraq since her favorite cookies are peanut butter. Mom and Princess Ivi agreed that they were so good and I thought I would have to fight them off with a stick to be able to get enough cookies to ship. I also picked up two boxes of cocoa, some tea and some chocolates for the package and Mom is making me a batch of caramel corn to include so it should be great.

The new Knitty is up. I just took a look at it. There are some really pretty patterns in there. The Zora Cardigan is beautiful. I also like the Quadrat Pullover although I am not much into the belted look. The Pyroclastic Sock is awesome. Maybe I could beat second sock syndrome...or maybe not. I am adding them to my list of projects to knit. With these, my Ravelry queue is 30 projects long...hmmm.

As for Christmas knitting, I finished three surprise knitting projects for Princess Ivi this weekend. I can't post them here but I will post them after Christmas. I also cast on for a pair of Alice Wristwarmers for my niece. They are neon green and white striped. I made good progress with them and am extremely pleased.

I did some shopping on Saturday. My sister and brother-in-law are done (well, my sister will be done once I locate the gift I bought for her months and months ago). My nephew is almost done. I am picking up Princess Ivi's gifts tonight on the way home. As for my niece, nephews and brother, they are going to have to wait for the Christmas bonus.

One Down, So Many More to Go

I finished Pat's present this weekend. I was going to make her the Hello New York scarf but the pattern seemed like a lot of fuss for something that didn't look all that great. A lot of yarn-overs but not a lot of ooh factor at the end. Instead I made this simple ribbed scarf. I am very pleased with it.

Princess Ivi was kind enough to model it as long as I didn't take a picture of her head since she was very upset with her air-drying hair (a curly, unruly mess).

Scarf: 27 stitches on size 8.0 mm needles, K3, p3 ribbing

Yarn: Grampian DK held double throughout

Too Much to Do

To Buy

1. Princess Ivi's Gifts
2. Isaac's gift (which needs to be mailed 12/18)
3. Gifts for nephews and niece (I am thinking the first few Harry Potter movies for the boys and a Joann's gift card for Emily since she likes to sew and needs fabric and notions)
4. Baking supplies
5. 10 Dollar Swap items to be shipped no later than 12/20
6. Carry-on size bag for Princess Ivi
7. Messenger style bag (or something like it) for me that can hold personal items (phone, wallet, etc.) plus ample knitting materials for plane trip and layovers Don't need because Princess Ivi is going to let me use one of hers.
8. Gift for Princess Ivi’s dad(??)
9. Stocking Stuffers
10. Gift for Mom

To Bake

1. Cookies for Baking GALS (to be shipped no later than 12/16)
2. Cookies (for mailing to sister on or about 12/18)
3. Goodies (like Christmas mice, peanut butter chip brittle and possible Nigella Lawson’s Hokey Pokey) for mailing on or about 12/18

To Knit

1. Surprise project for Princess Ivi
2. Stick shift cover, ice scraper mitt and steering wheel cover for Rob all in Gator orange and blue.
3. Hello New York Scarf Easy Ribbed Scarf for Pat using Grampian DK (purple)
4. Hat for Barry using Jiffy (black)
5. Wise Owl for Emi
6. Spiders for Will and Jake

To Assemble

1. Two pairs of wristers
2. Two surprise gifts for Princess Ivi

To Visit

1. Princess Ivi's dad for Christmas
2. Brother's family prior to Christmas day

To Wrap

1. All presents

To Stuff

1. Two Stockings (mom's and Princess Ivi's)

To Do

1. Ship package to sister on or around 12/18
2. Charge and load ipods before Christmas
3. Charge batteries for camera
4. Pack for trip to sister's house (leaving Jacksonville at 11:50 a.m. on 12/25) -of course this includes making sure there are sufficient clean clothes for said trip as well as pulling out our cold weather gear (which thankfully isn’t too far in the closet)

This seems so overwhelming especially when I consider that I have one pay check between now and Christmas (I am not counting the check I will receive on Christmas Eve). Thankfully Princess Ivi is out of school starting on the 21st and she is really good about helping with laundry and stuff. She will also make sure she has what she needs to keep herself occupied on the plane.

Judging from this list, my life will be very crazy for the next few weeks.

Feeling Froggy

I started the aforementioned Alice Wrist Warmers Knifty Knitter Loom Along with Vickie Howell but the wristwarmers were way too small for Princess Ivi, even when I held one strand together. I debated about knitting them on the loom as a flat panel but I wasn't thrilled with the ends as they had no cuffs.

Instead, I am making Vickie's regular pattern. Of course, I somehow lost the box of DPNs so I am making them in flat panels. They are black and white striped and I think they will be super cute when they are done. And they have a 2 inch ribbed cuff on one end and a cuff on the top (it is supposed to be 1 3/4 inches but mine are one 1 inch).

I had some serious knitting frustration going on. I think I frogged more this weekend than I have all year.

When I was trying to start a project for Pat, mom's boss, I started and frogged five different scarfs before I finally set it aside. I also frogged the wrist warmers. I think my knitting mojo was disrupted by these guys watching me...

(My mom made these three quilted pillows.)

I mean, don't get me wrong, they are cute and all but it started to feel like I was being stalked by the jolly travelocity gnome. But once I did this...

my knitting mojo was back and I was able to complete one Alice Wrist Warmer on size 8 needles made with black and white Jiffy (striped).

Tales from My Boring Life

I have been MIA for a few which I hate. I am really trying to be here more but some days life seems way too boring to post anything about.

Knitting:

I have been knitting like a crazy person. My sister’s project is done. My nephew’s project was started and finished last night (well, except for the crochet parts that my mom will do for me because I can’t crochet). The only worry I have is that it is too short. I have my sister measuring so I guess we will see.

The wristers for Princess Ivi are knitted and going on the blocking board this weekend.

I also found some surprise projects for Princess Ivi that I am working on. Her projects will help since she has asked for three things this year: a laptop (which isn’t going to happen), a digital
camera (which will happen so I can get my camera back) and an Ipod Nano. Considering the fact that the camera and ipod are over $300, I need all the help I can get with smaller, less expensive gifts. I sort of miss the days when she was content with a Barbie. Or when she was really little and she was content with the box the Barbie came in. What is up with babies and their love of boxes?

I still have a lot to do though. I have to make a hat for Mom’s boss/landlord. I am scared of this because lately it seems that every time I make a hat, it is way too short even though I follow the pattern. I am looking for a basic watch cap pattern that is long enough. Hopefully, I will find it soon.

I also need to knit something for Pat Mom’s female boss/landlord. I am going to make it out of the yarn she gave me last year for Christmas but I can’t decide if it will be a scarf, a hat or some type of headband/ear warmer thing. All I know is the pattern can’t be too busy or it gets lost in the texture of the yarn.

Of course, I still need to knit for the nephews and niece as well. I am thinking of making a knitted owl (like Wise Owl) for Emi, a spider (think Aragog) for Will, and a golden snitch for Jake and then giving the three of them at least the first two Harry Potter movies.

Oops, almost forgot about the project for my brother-in-law. Hmm. I guess I have a lot of knitting to do.

Speaking of knitting, I just looked at the new Twist Collective. All I can say is “must finish Christmas knitting before anything else” all while thinking “yummy...ooh, I want that...I have to make that.” This is why I have so many projects on the needles at once.

To all my fellow drivers, I am not insane. Really. I just like to sing along really loud to the radio.

Yesterday I went to the post office and came across a station playing nothing but Christmas music. Now, I am a firm believer that Christmas music should not be played until after Thanksgiving so I would normally steer clear of listening to this station right now. But I was in my car and I had to make a turn so I stopped scanning for other stations and before I knew it, I was driving back to the office belting out lines of Frosty the Snowman.

Busy Week

This week is fairly busy at work which is good. Wednesday night is The Girls’ Night Out when a bunch of us legal assistant/paralegal/secretaries get together with a court reporter (my boss’ wife) and visit and have a few drinks. It is nice to be able to do that. We just have to be careful not to get on the subject of attorney bashing or we could be there all night.

On Thursday, Princess Ivi is being evaluated by a child psychiatrist. There is some concern about bipolar or some other mood disorder along with a serious case of OCD and a possible clinical depression. I have been working on filling out the paperwork they sent me. The questions are crazy: When did the baby start speaking in full sentences? This is hard for me because it seems like she has always done this. I am glad that they gave me a few days to work on it before the appointment.

On Friday, Princess Ivi has a field trip to St. Augustine. She wants me to go. I have to check with the school board and make sure that they completed my background check first but I think I am going to go. Apparently all of her friends want to meet me because I sound so “cool”. Of course, I have this fear that I will be the kind of chaperone my mom was and repeat the time she lost a kid in the Boston Museum of Science.

Thanksgiving

I can’t believe it is next week. I am going to leave work on Wednesday and go pick up my brother’s kids and take them to the house for the weekend. Then Dan, my brother, will be forced to come at a decent time. See my evil plan?

I have to be honest and tell you that I have been looking forward to turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy for months.

Concert

Part of Princess Ivi’s Christmas present is a concert on November 30. I am taking half a day off since she has a 3:30 doctor’s appointment. Then we will go home and get ready to go see...wait for it...wait for it...Daughtry with Cavo and Theory of a Deadman. I am excited and I know Princess Ivi is very excited. Personally, I just want to be able to drool over Chris Daughtry but I think she is actually excited about the music. Huh?

So that is a pretty basic update on what is going on. Until later.

What I did this weekend?

First, I got my haircut. I donated it to Locks of Love so it is pretty short (right where my neck and shoulders connect). It is cool and it will grow fast. Princess Ivi said it makes me look younger but it is a grown up cut.

Second, Princess Ivi and I went to FYE and I got her the Framing Hanley CD which she went on and on about for days.

Third, we went to Applebee's for lunch. Yummm...

Fourth, we went to Books a Million and picked up some books.

Fifth, then we went home.

During lunch we talked about a decision she had to make. Her father, whom she hasn't seen in 12 years, wants to try to build a relationship with her. If I had my way, I would hold her close to me for the rest of her life but I can't do that to either of us so I told her that I would support whatever decision she chose to make about her father.

Saturday night she told me that she wanted to write to him and send a few recent photos.

So on Sunday after running to CVS to print pics, we wrote him a letter and I mailed it today. Let's keep our fingers crossed that everything goes well and no one gets hurt.

Today, I was impressed with myself because I talked to Princess Ivi's father, whom I haven't spoken to in 12 years and considering how our relationship ended, I was impressed with the fact that I was able to talk to him like an adult without getting emotional.

As for knitting, on Sunday I worked on the Feather and Fan Shawl and I decided that I hated it so I unraveled it. Then I was going to work on another shawl with the same yarn but that didn't work either. I was going to start on some fingerless gloves for Princess Ivi but I couldn't find where I put the Knit 1 magazine that had the pattern. Grrr...so instead I worked on my sister's Christmas present which I can't go into too much detail here because it is a surprise. but all in all, it felt good to be knitting again.

Weekend Catchup

So, I feel like such a slacker. I haven’t posted in a while but I have been so busy at work that I haven’t had time to blog. Imagine that? That is the trouble with only having a computer at work and not at home.

So here is my wrap up for the weekend....

Friday
After getting off of work, I headed home and sat through Twilight with Princess Ivi. It has some cute lines in it but I don’t like Kristen Stewart. I felt like she had no personality and she really isn’t a good actor. It was hard for me to forget about Cedric when seeing Robert Pattinson but I did it and it was funny to see Princess Ivi get all worked up about her favorite characters (Edward, Emmett, Jacob, notice a theme going). While watching the movie, I worked on a secret project for the Swaps on a Budget Ravelry swap.

Oh, I was also surprised by my mom’s boss who picked me up a knitting bag filled with yarn, crochet hooks, circular needles, stitch holders and stuff. She found it at a yard sale and the yarn is good quality (4 whole skeins) and nothing stinks which is good.

Saturday
Princess Ivi and I spent the day together. First, we cashed my paycheck and paid my car payment. Once the business stuff was done, we went to CVS and loaded up on Twizzlers, gummy worms and Andes mints (don’t ask) and headed to the movie theater to see Fast and Furious. This movie was surprisingly good. I was worried it would be a stinker after the second and third doses of Fast and Furious but I think this worked because it had the same original people in it. And of course, the hot cars that were worth drooling over. My one complaint, neither Vin Diesel or Paul Walker took their shirts off. Pooh!

After the movie, we headed to Wallyworld for groceries and Key Lime Pie. Dinner consisted of bratwurst and salad. Dessert was Key Lime Pie for me and Chocolate Silk for Princess Ivi. I love Edwards frozen pies.

We watched Lifetime Movie Channel’s Nora Roberts’ Collection, High Noon. This was much better than the last movie because these people could act. It had the girl who plays Claire from Lost and the guy who used to be on Jack and Jill (on the CW).

Then, of course, I talked to my sister until about 1:30 a.m. which is what I do every Saturday. This Saturday was spent doing crossword puzzles. I know, we are a strange family but when your best friend lives 1200 miles away, you find ways to do the things you enjoy together. It helps that we both have Go Phones so it is free for us to call each other. (Well, we get charged the $1.00 per day usage fee but the minutes are free which is a good thing too since we are on the phone for about 2 hours every Saturday.)

Sunday
On Sunday, Princess Ivi and I headed to Gainesville. But first we had to go to Beall’s and pick up a purse like mine for Mom. Her’s is black. Mine is pink so we can tell the difference. I also bought a really cute purple bag that I am going to use for my knitting bag when I go to the SnB meetings.

When we walked out of the store, all we could smell was yummy Chinese food so we hopped in for an egg roll each. It was cute to see the boy (probably 14 or 15 years old) staring at Princess Ivi.

Then, we went to Joann’s for the Customer Appreciation sale. We bought some goodies for my swap partner in the Knitter’s Treasure Swap on Ravelry as well as some beading supplies, a quilt kit for my friend’s baby, some ribbon for Princess Ivi and some thread for mom.

After Joann’s, we stopped in at Hank’s Yarn and Fiber to stroll through. I did good and I didn’t buy any yarn but I did pick up something for my swap partner.

Then we had to run to Michael’s to find a frame. No luck but Princess Ivi found the Twilight poster that she had been looking or and I found some items with sheep on them and I couldn’t resist.

On our way home, I was struck again with how attractive Princess Ivi was when a young man on a motorcycle almost crashed into a truck and toppled over because he was too busy staring at her. My baby is growing up.

Once home, we had dinner of seafood salad subs. Then, it was laundry and getting ready for the week.

Office Drama and knitting

I have to say that I am truly amazed at the audacity of some people. Here is the skinny....on Monday I got to work and my coworker said "if anyone calls today for my daughter can you just take a message so I can call her cell phone". Now I am thinking, this woman is a mom so maybe it is a doctor or something that needs to be able to reach her so not a big deal, right? Wrong. The damn phone rang every hour for her daughter and then the last call of the day the guy told me that he was calling from "Direct Financing" then my coworker casually said that her daughter had applied for a loan and used this number as her contact number. Whoa! That put a whole new spin on things.

Then yesterday, the phone rang and it was a woman wanting to verify her daughter’s employment with us. Now hold on a minute...I am not lying for her daughter (or for anyone else for that matter). So I gave the first call to her and she said that she would have to have the HR person call her back. No attempt to set the record straight. I wound up getting another call yesterday and when my coworker still did nothing, I told the boss. The way I see it is that if someone from this office lies and says that this girl works here so she can get a loan, then we are involved in the fraud. (I am pretty sure that she has already found a way to fudge her mother’s pay stubs so it looks like they are hers.) I have no idea what the boss is going to do but I mean, come on. We work in a law firm for heaven’s sake. Show some ethical behavior.

Nothing else is really happening in my life right now. Just working and knitting.

I am knitting the Ilene Market Bag which is okay but the cotton hurts my hands and makes my arthritis act up if I work on it too long. So lately I have been working on it for at least two rows of the pattern and then moving to something gentler. This is a Christmas present so I have some time.

The gentler is the Easiest Baby Blanket that I am knitting in a pretty purple shade for my friend Melissa’s baby girl that is due the beginning of August. It is moving along quickly and I feel good about the progress so far.

I have also been gathering items for the two swaps that I am in...the Envelope Swap and Swap on a Budget (both from Ravelry).

I have also been reading blogs. Has anyone else noticed how many people have titled posts "In like a lion"? I have now come to hate that line.

One interesting thing that happened was that I filled my gas tank and then calculated and figured out that I get about 33 miles to the gallon which is very nice.

Big Catch Up

Princess Ivi is now officially a seventh grader. She received her report card yesterday (which was the last day of school). She got a C in math which is good for her given her LD. She got As and Bs in everything else. She also got her reading list for the summer and her school supply list. I hate the school supply list. It seems it gets longer and more complicated each year. Of course, that means that school supplies also get more expensive each year.

But I love the reading list. She has to read at least three books this summer from fiction genres. Last summer I had a hard time getting her to read anything that wasn’t a graphic (anime) novel. So this year, I have limited her to one a month and told her that I will give her a dollar for every book she completes from cover to cover and 50 cents for every book that she makes it halfway through (the rule for books we don’t like is that we have to get at least halfway). I think that will motivate her to read more.

She is incredibly boy crazy right now. She has a crush on the boy who lives in the apartment upstairs from us. I am pretending it isn’t happening. She knows my rules that she can’t have a boyfriend yet. She has to be 13 to have a boyfriend (the kind at school where they hold hands and tell everyone they are going out but never actually go anywhere), 14 to go on group dates with big groups including appropriate chaperones, 15 for smaller groups with appropriate chaperones, and 16 to date without an adult present.

She is all worried that the boy she likes won’t wait until she is 13. I tried explaining to her that if he doesn’t then he is wrong for her. I also pointed out that he is just one of many boys she will like and to not get too attached. We shall see how this progresses. I don’t like to think of her dating yet. She is still my baby…the thought of her dating makes me feel incredibly old and very, very overwhelmed.

This summer she will be doing some volunteer work at the library, art programs at the library, working two days a week at Ryan’s work filing and doing mailings, and hanging out with her aunt.

Oh, by the way, I am married…happily married. I can’t believe how lucky I am that we found each other again. It is interesting to be able to talk about dating when we were 17 and to talk about those memories. We loved each other then and we both now realize that we would have stayed together if we had been smarter.

But the love we have now is so much better because we are older and smarter. After experiencing so much crap in our lives, I think we both realized how rare the love we have really is.

Of course, we are still adjusting which is normal considering Ryan only moved here April 20. He and Princess Ivi are getting along great. It helps that he is really just a big kid. But I am just trying to stay patient and not be so anal. I am slowly learning to let go of some of my obsessive compulsive behaviors.

Summer Plans
June consists of the Greek festival on the 21st (yummm…spanakopita, baklava…need I say more), our one month anniversary, and the Highland Games and Scottish festival in Greenfield, MA.

July consists of the Boston Harborfest; our local 4th of July celebration; a coworker’s birthday; her sons’ birthday party (I committed to making a racecar cake); my boss’s 50th birthday; Ryan’s 30th birthday (where I am going to make his mother’s carrot cake and hope it turns out close to hers); some folk festivals.

August consists of more fairs and festivals and our trip to Florida.

Of course, August also brings the start of the school year (August 27th) and sees the official end to summer vacation. But I don’t mind because it means fall will be there soon. I love fall because September has fall festivals and apple picking (and Ryan’s mother’s visit) and October has Halloween events (this year we will take a trip to Salem). Then November brings Thanksgiving and then it is Christmas.

Since Ryan is now a part of our lives and since he has never been to New England, I find myself wanting to show him everything and experience everything with him.

As for knitting, I am making a sock. Of course, I realized last night that I have somehow managed to knit it inside out. I am not going to undo it though. I am going to post to some lists and see if anyone has any advice on how to fix it without ruining it. Considering I have unknitted it twice now, I am going to use a lifeline on the next one.

I still have a lot of unfinished projects but since it was unbelievably hot, I needed something small and easy to transport.